Ex-Supreme Court judge, MoneyToday chairman indicted over development scandal

Prosecutors indicted former Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il and MoneyToday Media Group Chairman Hong Seon-geun without physical detention Wednesday in connection with a high-profile property development scandal. Kwon and Hong are among a group of people accused of being promised 5 billion won (US$3.62 million) each from asset management firm Hwacheon Daeyu, which was seeking their influence as it pushed for the corruption-laden development project in Daejang-dong in the city of Seongnam, south of Seoul. Kwon, who served as a Supreme Court justice from 2014-2020, was charged with illegally providing legal advice to Hwacheon Daeyu without registering as a lawyer while serving as an adviser for the firm between January and August 2021. In return, he received 150 million won. By law, conducting business as a lawyer without registering is punishable by up to three years in prison or 20 million won in fines. The Korean Bar Association approved Kwon's registration as a lawyer in December 2022. Specifically, prosecutors suspect Kwon of involvement in an administrative lawsuit related to the undergrounding of power lines in the Daejang-dong development project. Kwon denied the charges against him, claiming that he did not know of the power grid issue when he started out as an adviser and that he had played the role as only an adviser for general company management affairs and not as a lawyer. Hong was charged with borrowing 5 billion won from Kim Man-bae, the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, and giving back only the principal without paying interest. Prosecutors determined that the unpaid interest totaling about 14.5 million won was graft. Kwon and Hong were questioned last month in connection with the case. Source: Yonhap News Agency