▲ Former Representative Kwak Sang-do
There is a stir as a transcript of the fact that former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, a former member of the People's Power, requested money from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management), was released.
The Hankook Ilbo reported today (19th) that it obtained and reported a transcript of a conversation between an accountant Jeong Young-hak (54), owner of Cheonhwa Dongin 5, and Mr. Kim from 2019 to 2020.
According to this, in a conversation with Accountant Jeong on April 4, 2020, Kim said, "Byeong-chae (Kwak Byung-chae)'s father (Kwak Sang-do) asks for money. Through Byeong-chae." I was talking about doing it.
When Mr. Kim asked Mr. Kwak Byeong-chae, 'What do you want your father to ask for?' Mr. Kwak answered, 'What are you going to do with the money you promised to give to your father?' Then, there are more than the managing director Yang (Executive Officer of Hwacheon Daeyu), so I have to cut it three or four times and give it to you through you.”
Kim also mentioned to Accountant Jeong that Hwacheon Daewoo lobbied against government officials, and Mr. Kwak Byung-chae found out whether the lobbyed officials were cooperating with the project and reported it to Mr. Kim.
In the conversation between Mr. Kim and Accountant Jeong in the reported transcript, a list of lobbying targets for Hwacheon Daeyu, the so-called '5 billion club', and a plan for distributing the amount were also revealed.
According to this, in March 2020, Mr. Kim mentioned the names of former Blue House civil affairs chief Choi Jae-kyung, former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, former prosecutor-general Kim Su-nam, Money Today Chairman Hong Seon-geun, and former Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il "50 (5 billion won)" I told accountant Jung to the effect that I should take care of them.
To this, accountant Jung replied, 'Multiply by 50, you get 30 billion'.
The allegation that former lawmaker Kwak agreed to receive 5 billion won in exchange for helping developers in Daejang-dong has been raised since the beginning of the prosecution's investigation.
Prosecutors said that when former lawmaker Kwak tried to disband the consortium between Hwacheon Daewoo and Hana Bank around 2015, he exercised influence over Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tae to block this, and in return, he paid 5 billion won (US$5 million) as severance pay through his son who worked for Hwacheon Daewoo. 2.5 billion won excluding tax).
At the end of last year, the Seoul Central Prosecutor's Office's dedicated investigation team (team leader Kim Tae-hoon, 4th deputy chief prosecutor) requested an arrest warrant for former member Kwak on charges of mediation under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, but it was dismissed.
The prosecution, which is conducting a complementary investigation, summoned and investigated Chairman Kim Jung-tae on the 30th of last month, but so far it has not been able to conclude whether or not to re-apply for the warrant of former member Kwak.
A lawyer for Kwak said, "The fact that the part of Kwak in the transcript is not true is being elucidated during the prosecution's investigation."
Prosecutors immediately expressed concern when the contents of the transcript were reported.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office issued a statement to the reporters today, saying, "If the documents, transcripts, and audio recordings of criminal cases are leaked without checking the context and facts, there is a risk of hindering the relevant trial and ongoing investigation, and There is also a risk of invasion of privacy,” he said.
It also added, "If the accused or his defense divulges the data read or copied for any purpose other than a trial, he will be subject to criminal punishment."
However, the transcript of Accountant Jung was used as a key basis for the prosecution last year to detain and indict Kim Dong-gyu, former head of the planning division of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, Mr. Kim and lawyer Nam Wook, owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. The wave is expected to continue as much of the agreement is also met.
In today's radio interview, Song Young-gil, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, mentioned the contents of the transcript of accountant Jeong, saying, "It turned out that former lawmaker Kwak actually demanded (5 billion won)," he said.