Arrest warrant sought again for ex-special counsel over corruption charges

▲ Former special counsel Park Young-soo (Yonhap)

ex-special counsel-probe

Arrest warrant sought again for ex-special counsel over corruption charges

SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant again Monday for former special counsel Park Young-soo over corruption allegations connected to a high-profile property development scandal after a court rejected a warrant request last month.

The former special counsel is suspected of taking 800 million won (US$628,239) from private developers in return for helping them land a deal to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, while he served as the chair of the Woori Bank board of directors.

He is also accused of conspiring with his former assistant, Yang Jae-sik, in the process and being promised 20 billion won and properties as a reward from the developers.

Prosecutors suspect Park actually pocketed 300 million won while running for chairman of the Korean Bar Association in 2015, separately received 500 million won the same year and illegally borrowed 1.1 billion won between 2019 and 2021 in collaboration with his daughter.

Officials said the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office applied for a warrant to detain Park on Monday on bribery and graft charges.

The Seoul Central District Court had denied prosecutors' previous warrant request against Park a month earlier, citing room for dispute regarding the bribery allegations and the need to guarantee the suspect's right to a defense.

Park is one of several prominent figures in the "5 billion club," who were allegedly each promised 5 billion won by asset management firm Hwacheon Daeyu, which is at the center of the Daejang-dong development scandal, along with former ruling party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do and former Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam.

Park rose to fame after investigating a corruption scandal involving the ousted former President Park Geun-hye as a special counsel in 2017.

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