Controversy is pouring in reports of suspicion that Rep. Kwak Sang-do received a request for approval of the Daejang-dong development project and agreed to receive 5 billion won in severance pay for his son Kwak Byung-chae in return for helping to form the Hana Bank consortium.
In addition, the Democratic Party launched an offensive, claiming that the people’s power civil corruption gate had been opened. Prosecutors did not confirm the facts regarding the media reports of the allegations, saying that they were under investigation. Rep. Kwak Sang-do and Mr. Kim Man-bae deny that the facts are not true.
It is when the court decides to freeze the account of Kwak’s son that the 5 billion won paid to Rep. Kwak’s son began to be suspected. Judge Kim Chan-nyeon of the Seoul Central District Court for the 31st Criminal Court (application) cited the request for promotion and preservation of the account of Kwak’s son, which the prosecution applied for on the 8th. This fact was only recently known.
YTN and Chosun Ilbo, etc., in the decision to preserve the penalty, suggested that in June 2015, if Rep. Kwak helped Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, former Deputy Director of Money Today, in legal disputes related to the Daejang-dong business, he would get his son employed at Hwacheon Daeyu and share the profits from the business. It was reported that the prosecution’s allegations that he received the
Moreover, there were reports that Rep. Kwak intervened in the process of forming the Hana Bank consortium and helped by mediating. The Seoul Shimbun reported, “In the process of investigating the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Team Leader Kim Tae-hoon, 4th Deputy Chief) and consortium officials, including Hana Bank, Mr. Kim, Nam-wook (48), and Jeong Yeong-hak (53), an accountant, Rep. It is said that the situation that helped prevent the bankruptcy crisis of the Hana Bank consortium has been captured.”
According to the Seoul Shimbun, parent company B of Company A, which participated in the Korea Development Bank consortium, which was in competition with the Hana Bank consortium in which Hwacheon Daewoo participated at the time, suggested to Kim Jeong-tae, chairman of Hana Financial Group, “Let’s cancel the Hana Bank consortium and join the Korea Development Bank consortium.” is suspected of doing At this time, the Seoul Shimbun reported that the core of the suspicion was that Mr. Kim (Kim Man-bae) asked Rep. Kwak to help maintain the Hana Bank consortium. Former Deputy Director Kim, Rep. Kwak, and Chairman Kim are all alumni of Sungkyunkwan University.
The Segye Daily also wrote in an article on the 28th that “the prosecution suspects that Kwak’s son, who worked for Hwacheon Daeyu, received 5 billion won in the name of severance pay, etc., as compensation for Kwak’s help.” YTN said, “The prosecution suspects that Kwak’s son received 5 billion won in the name of severance pay, etc., as a bribe exchanged between Kwak and Kim Man-bae.” The court accepted the request for compensation,” he explained.
As reports about the possibility that Kwak Sang-do’s son’s 5 billion won would be a costly affair, the Democratic Party also raised a voice. In a briefing on the afternoon of the 28th, senior spokesperson for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea Yoh Yong-jin said, “The secret door of the People’s Power Construction Violation Gate was opened when the son of Kwak’s son was discovered. We need to quickly track down the non-hostile forces behind them,” he insisted.
Hearing that there are reports of allegations regarding Rep. Kwak, the senior spokesman said, “It is also noteworthy that the leadership of the Daejang-dong project passed from Nam Wook’s team to reporter Kim Man-bae before and after Kwak’s son joined Hwacheon Daeyu in 2015. If he contributed to the funding and played the role of ‘traffic management’, the role of Rep. Kwak may be more than revealed.” He argued, “Therefore, it is necessary to examine whether the motive for getting my son to work was simply a job or whether he was monitoring the business consciously of his share.”
Regarding the authenticity of this investigation by the prosecution, the public affairs officer of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said in a telephone conversation with the media today on the afternoon of the 28th, “I cannot confirm the situation as it is under investigation.” In relation to the court’s decision to preserve the account of Kwak’s son, Lee said, “It is difficult to confirm because the prosecution is considering the 5 billion won of Kwak Sang-do’s son as a bribe,” including the Chosun Ilbo.
Regarding various media reports that ‘Rep. Kwak Sang-do helped in the process of forming the Hana Bank consortium at the request of Mr. Kim Man-bae, and his son’s retirement allowance of 5 billion won is in return,’ the public affairs officer of the prosecution said, “This is not something we confirmed, and the investigation status. We can’t confirm it because it belongs to .”
Regarding this, Rep. Kwak Sang-do’s side said in a message distributed to the media before and after the decision to preserve Kwak’s son’s account was announced, “Former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do was serving as the chairman of the Legal Aid Corporation in June 2015. “It doesn’t make sense to share the profits even if it’s not something you can do,” he said. Rep. Kwak’s side refuted, “I feel like I’m just trying to force it to work, claiming that he used his office as a member of the National Assembly, then reconnecting it with his job at the time of senior civil affairs, and this time as the chairman of the Legal Aid Corporation.”
On the 28th, Rep. Kwak called several times to hear about the allegations that ‘in the process of forming the Hana Bank consortium at the beginning of the business, when it was in danger of being destroyed, I received the requests of former Deputy Director Kim Man-bae and agreed to receive 5 billion won in return for help’. The cell phone was turned off, and he sent inquiries through text messages and SNS messengers, but did not get an answer.
Former Deputy Director Kim Man-bae said on the night of the 26th, when he returned home after being summoned for investigation by the prosecution, that the allegation that he would share the profits from the Daejang-dong project to Rep. Kwak Sang-do was false. YTN and others reported.
