Kwak Sang-do‘s Legal Battle: What the 50 Billion Won Bribery Case Means for South Korea’s Political Landscape

Former Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu) CEO Lee Seong-mun, who had been accused of transferring 5 billion KRW (approximately 3,750,000 USD) in severance and other payments to the son of former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, was cleared of the charges and received a non-prosecution decision.

According to legal sources on the 7th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1, led by Chief Prosecutor Guk Won, dropped the charges against Lee on March 24.

Prosecutors also declined to indict an accounting staffer identified only by the surname Kim on the same day.

Prosecutors had alleged that, during the April 2021 Daejang-dong development project, Kwak received 5 billion KRW (approximately 3,750,000 USD) from Hwacheon Daeyu major shareholder Kim Man-bae in exchange for arranging favors and as a bribe related to his duties as a National Assembly member. After taxes and other deductions, the payment was said to equal roughly 2.5 billion KRW (approximately 1,875,000 USD). Authorities alleged that the funds were disguised as severance pay and performance bonuses for Kwak’s son, Byeong-chae, who had worked at Hwacheon Daeyu.

The civic group Anti-Corruption and Citizens’ Participation Coalition filed complaints against Kwak and Lee at the end of 2021.

In February 2022, prosecutors arrested and indicted Kwak.

In the first-instance ruling in February, the court dismissed the prosecution’s case against Kwak and acquitted his son.