Former Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo was sentenced to 7 years in prison in the first trial for charges of receiving bribes from private developers related to the Daejang-dong development. Following the sentencing, Park's bail was revoked, resulting in his court custody.
The 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Director General Kim Dong-hyun presiding) sentenced former Special Prosecutor Park to 7 years in prison and a fine of 500 million won on the 13th for charges including violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Former Special Prosecutor Yang Jae-sik, who was indicted alongside him, received a sentence of 5 years and a fine of 300 million won.
Former Special Prosecutor Park was released on bail in January of last year, five months after being detained, and had been undergoing trial while free. However, the court revoked his bail on this day, resulting in his court custody.
Earlier, former Special Prosecutor Park was arrested and indicted in August last year for allegedly receiving 800 million won after promising to obtain 20 billion won from lawyers, including Nam Wook, who served as a non-executive director and chair of the board at Woori Bank from 2014 to 2015. He was also accused of receiving 300 million won in cash from Nam under the pretext of funds for the Korean Bar Association presidential election, receiving 500 million won from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, as a reward for obtaining a letter of intent for 150 billion won in loans from Woori Bank, and later promised to receive 5 billion won.
Additionally, as it became difficult for former Special Prosecutor Park to receive the 5 billion won directly, he allegedly colluded with his daughter, who worked at Hwacheon Daeyu from 2019 to 2021, to receive 1.1 billion won from Kim. Former Special Prosecutor Yang was indicted alongside him for allegedly handling the practical aspects of this process.
The first trial court found former Special Prosecutor Park guilty of only some of the charges against him. It acknowledged that he received 300 million won under the pretext of election funds for the Korean Bar Association after receiving requests related to the Daejang-dong project from lawyer Nam.
On the other hand, the court judged him not guilty regarding the charges of allegedly receiving 500 million won after promising to receive 5 billion won from Kim Man-bae and 1.1 billion won through lending from his daughter, an employee of Hwacheon Daeyu. The charge of receiving a bribe worth 20 billion won from the Daejang-dong group was also dismissed due to the statute of limitations.
The court remarked, "Being a director of Woori Bank requires executing duties with integrity and fairness," adding, "Former Special Prosecutor Park undermined public trust by receiving 300 million won for personal gain."
Former Special Prosecutor Park was released on bail in January of last year, five months after being detained. He denied all allegations during the trial.
The prosecution sought a sentence of 12 years and a fine of 1.6 billion won against former Special Prosecutor Park, and 6 years in prison, a fine of 600 million won, and a confiscation of 150 million won against former Special Prosecutor Yang.