The SBS investigative press team <Panda to the end> reported important facts related to the 'Songnam FC third-party bribery allegations' by obtaining internal data of Seongnam FC and official documents from Seongnam City in July.
It was an official document between Seongnam City and Doosan E&C containing the details of Doosan E&C's payment of billions of won to Seongnam FC in the process of changing the use of the Jeongja-dong Hospital site and building a high-rise office building, and ▲ considering the payment of advertising subsidies in return for the change of use. .
▶[Exclusive] "If we build an office building, we will support Seongnam FC"...
Received Doosan E&C's official document
▶[Exclusive] Part of Seongnam FC's donations and two months after payment of 'performance money' to aides, the
police who initially dismissed the charges overturned the conclusion, and the investigation team of the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, who took over the case Started.
Yesterday (26th), in addition to Doosan E&C, other companies and organizations that paid donations to Seongnam FC were seized and searched, including the civic group Jubilee Bank, which used the donations received from Naver as advertisements for Seongnam FC.
The political battle is heating up as the investigations targeting the representatives of large opposition parties and their close aides are expanding.
In Yeouido, on numerous radio and current affairs programs, people representing the positions of each camp are pouring out various words, and there are also reports carrying these words.
In the process of the workshop, it is common to twist, reduce, and exaggerate facts according to the interests of each person.
And then there are things that are being pushed back.
It is a matter of the legal issue of the Seongnam FC allegation and how the judgment on this issue will affect our society in the future.
As a reporter who is more interested in the 'facts' rather than the 'power relations' of the political circles, and the 'impact of the resolution of suspicions on society' rather than the 'future of a politician', in this report file, I want to tell you the stories behind the political battles. do.
'Citizen's Club' vs 'Co., Ltd.' where close associates worked and received money
Our <Panda to the End> team sought advice from judges and five lawyers who were former prosecutors based on the facts revealed during the interview process.
First, we asked what was the biggest issue in determining whether the payment of the Seongnam FC ad sponsorship was a 'third-party bribe'.
Although opinions differed in detail, all five lawyers who responded to the consultation chose 'the nature of the corporation called Seongnam FC' as an important issue.
Mr. A, a former judge with extensive experience in criminal trials, including bribery, said, "Even if Seongnam FC is a 'citizen's club' with strong public interest, it does not mean that third-party bribery charges cannot be established." “If the facts and circumstances of Rep. Jae-myung Lee or those around him benefit from personal gains through this process, I think it will be easier to establish charges during the trial process,” he said.
Enlarging an image
Rep. Jae-myung Lee's side has been adhering to the position that 'Seongnam FC is a citizen's club with a public interest' from the beginning of the allegations.
He said that he took over an ownerless local club and transformed it into a civic club, thereby contributing to various public contributions including revitalization of the local economy.
However, the investigation team at the Seongnam branch, which is expanding the investigation, is looking at the character of Seongnam FC from a completely different perspective.
From Seongnam City to Gyeonggi-do, we are paying attention to the fact that those who worked with Rep. Jae-myung Lee, worked for Seongnam FC, and received salaries as well as incentives from attracting advertising support.
Advertisement donations from companies paid to Seongnam FC were used as incentives or club finances, which ultimately resulted in economic gains for the aides.
The investigation team is also said to be paying attention to the side effects that Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung gained as a politician while running Seongnam FC.
The frame battle that will take place at the biggest level in the early stages of the prosecution's investigation is likely to be fought over whether Seongnam FC was a 'public interest civic club' or 'a corporation where aides worked and received money'.
what is 'unclean'
Among the lawyers who responded to the interview, especially those who used to be judges, they agreed that it was important to prove the 'negativeness of solicitation'.
And he said that the criterion for judging this 'negative' was 'whether it was possible to solve the current issue without asking for help' seems important.
“In a situation where the use of the Jeongja-dong Hospital site seems to be possible, Seongnam FC can get away if it is a public donation, but it is difficult to change the use,” said B, a lawyer with extensive experience in criminal trials. If the transaction was made with the payment of donations as a condition, it would have no choice but to evaluate it as a bribe.”
Mr. B said, "If it is difficult to change the use without a solicitation, even if Seongnam FC is a corporation with a public interest, it can be judged as a third-party bribery." 3rd party bribery'.
At that time, former Fair Trade Commissioner Lee, who was asked by SK Telecom to be lenient in relation to the merger review, was found guilty of making a donation of 1 billion won to the temple he attended.
The 'temple' that received the donation was a religious institution, and the 'temple' that received the donation did not directly benefit the former Fair Trade Commissioner.
However, the Supreme Court found that the former chairman of the Fair Trade Commission was guilty of 'unfair remuneration' for allowing a third party to receive money and valuables in connection with the 'business combination review' job.
Enlarging an image
Another judge, Mr. A, also said, "I think the key is whether you want to do something that is not easy or not. , I think it will be seen as a bribe with a payoff.”
The Seongnam Branch Investigation Team is paying attention to the fact that Doosan E&C has been working hard for nearly 20 years to resolve the issue of change of use.
In particular, as the change of use became a reality, it was reported that local civil society groups and progressive media also raised the claim of "privileged large corporations" as being important.
In fact, at the time of the change of use in 2015, the <Hankyoreh Shimbun> was ['Doosan preferential treatment'] a reality...
Bundang hospital land eventually changed use] in an article titled "Seongnam City receives some of the land from donations, but Doosan changes 90% of the entire site to general business land, so it can earn huge profit margins. ' The criticism was unavoidable," he pointed out.
On the other hand, lawmaker Lee Jae-myung's side argues that the change of use is "a result of attracting companies that put pragmatism ahead."
He said, "We changed the site of a medical facility that had been left undeveloped for a long time to a commercial site, attracting 7 Doosan Group affiliates, and revitalizing the local economy by attracting businesses and allowing the benefits to be returned to Seongnam citizens."
Rather than 'solving the company's current issues', it is said that they made a 'practical decision' to promote the public interest through change of use.
The key to expanding the investigation is Naver… Will ‘punishment’ be added?
Enlarging an image
Yesterday (26th), the Seongnam Branch Investigation Team seized and searched about 10 other places, including Naver and Cha Hospital, that paid advertising support to Seongnam FC in addition to Doosan E&C.
The police were only sent to Doosan E&C on charges of bribery by a third party, but the scope of the investigation was expanded.
The observation that the prosecution will expand the investigation has been dominant so far, but yesterday's all-round search and seizure made this observation a reality.
A chief prosecutor, who requested anonymity, interpreted, "The investigation team is seeing this as not a single case of 'Doosan E&C's third-party bribery', but as several cases involving each company."
Among the companies that have been investigated, Naver has received the most attention.
According to the internal data of Seongnam FC secured by our <panda to the end> team, Seongnam FC received about 4 billion won in advertising support from the civic group ‘Hope Salim’ for three years from 2015 to 2017, and ‘Hope Salim’ is operating it. The logo of Jubilee Bank, a debt relief organization for the underprivileged, was exposed on the uniform.
▶[Exclusive][Report file] We disclose details of Seongnam FC's donations
However, it was confirmed that the money 'Hope Salim' paid was sponsored by Naver, not its own funds.
Except for some of the money sponsored by Naver, most of the rest was spent on Seongnam FC in the name of advertising money.
In response to our <Panda to the End> team's inquiry about this process, Naver said, "It was Mr. Lee, the team leader of Seongnam FC, who had suggested how to apply through Hope Salim."
Enlarging an image
Seongnam FC has been adhering to its position as a 'legal sponsorship structure' since the early days of the allegations.
Seongnam FC issued a statement at the time of the national audit in 2018 when the allegations arose, saying, "It is a very reasonable execution made by the agreement, and it is an act that exactly meets the purpose of each agreement subject, and there is no problem with it."
In addition, "In addition to the exposure of the Rolling Jubilee logo on the uniform, we provided a new life opportunity to low-income citizens suffering from bad debt by promoting the 'Debt Relief Project' through various campaign activities using home games and squads, contributing to being widely known to the public. There is,” he claimed.
On the other hand, the investigation team is paying attention to the fact that Seongnam FC has proposed such a sponsorship structure 'first'.
Even if it is a decision made within a civic group that 4 billion won sponsored by a large corporation was used as advertising expenses instead of debt relief for the underprivileged, it is not natural for a Seongnam FC official to propose such a detour support structure to a large corporation first. will.
Enlarging an image
There is also an analysis that the expansion of investigations towards other companies is ultimately a stepping stone to increase the 'punitiveness' of 'Songnam FC's third-party bribery allegations'.
Mr. C, a lawyer from the prosecution, said, "In a situation where there is a lot of controversy regarding the donations of Doosan E&C, if it turns out that there are more companies that have sponsored Seongnam FC in hopes of a reward, it will not only secure the legitimacy of indicting the opposition leader but also maintain the prosecution. In the process, it seems that the number of sentences can be increased by increasing 'punitiveness'."
Is it the 'skills of a competent politician' or a sample of the 'interested universe'?
Enlarging an image
Besides these legal issues, there are other things to watch out for.
It is a question of how the judicial judgment on this allegation will affect the exercise of authority by public officials in the future.
The allegations involving the head of a large opposition party will serve as an important reference whenever allegations of 'third-party bribery' by public officials and politicians arise in the future.
In a similar situation, another social baseline is drawn as to the extent to which our social officials and politicians can exercise their power.
Mr. D, a lawyer who used to be a judge, said, "If you think about it from a judge's point of view, you will think about what kind of norm this case will act as a standard in the future." It seems that there is no choice but to worry about whether it is desirable or not.”
In the end, if the allegation is judged to be legally correct, greater autonomy may be imposed on the authority of public officials or politicians to exercise 'increasing the public interest'.
In a situation where there are pending issues to be resolved, such as the case of Doosan E&C's change of use, there is no room for judgment as a "pragmatic decision" to have the entity with financial rights provide economic benefits to a third entity in the name of 'increasing the public interest'. will get bigger.
On the other hand, if these allegations are viewed as subjects of criminal punishment, the decision-making made by public officials and politicians in a similar way is more likely to be judged as 'creating a universe of interests'.
Gone are the days when highway rest stops were given cash in an apple box, and it could put a broader brake on building a 'interested universe' in a way that would allow aides to reap economic benefits.
The investigation will continue in the future, and the political battle is likely to continue for the time being.
However, as a reporter who has covered this allegation, I hope that our society can find a meaning other than 'political workshop' in the process of resolving the problem.
This is because I think the time series of the society in which I and the people around me will live is much longer and more important than the time series of politician Lee Jae-myung or prosecutors conducting investigations.
Therefore, the question of whether Seongnam FC's advertisement sponsorship attraction should be viewed as 'the skill of a competent politician' or as a 'sample of a universe of interests' should be discussed at a deeper level than 'The path of politician Lee Jae-myung'.
(Design: Jisoo Ok / Production: D Contents Planning Department)