This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz RM report site at 3:01 p.m. on May 26, 2025.
Gu Kyu-woon, the founder of Daebang Construction, was indicted without detention for violating the Fair Trade Act by funneling profitable public land parcels he won bids for to a company in which his daughter and daughter-in-law hold equity. Previously, the prosecution indicted both the Daebang Construction corporation and Gu's eldest son, Gu Chan-woo, the representative of Daebang Construction, under the same charges and later brought additional charges against Gu.
On the 26th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office's Fair Trade Investigation Division (Director General Kim Yong-sik) revealed that they have indicted Gu without detention for violating the Fair Trade Act.
Previously, the Fair Trade Commission reported that on February 25, 2025, Daebang Construction improperly supported Daebang Industrial Development, of which the second generation is the largest shareholder, and issued a corrective order along with a penalty surcharge of 20.5 billion won while filing a complaint with the prosecution. Daebang Industrial Development is an unlisted company wholly owned by Gu Kyu-woon's daughter, Gu Su-jin, and daughter-in-law, Kim Bo-hee. The company's operations are managed by Gu Su-jin's husband, Yoon Dae-in, the representative.
According to the prosecution, Daebang Construction transferred six public land parcels secured through methods like 'swarm bidding' from November 2014 to March 2020 to Daebang Industrial Development and its five subsidiaries. Swarm bidding is when construction companies mobilize multiple affiliates to engage in collusive bidding to increase the likelihood of winning bids for public land.
The public land parcels transferred were sites in Magok, Seoul; Jeonnam Innovation; Dongtan, Gyeonggi; and Naepo, Chungnam, which Daebang Construction itself evaluated as places with 'abundant development prospects and expected significant profits.'
Through such transfer activities, Daebang Industrial Development secured 1.1 trillion won, accounting for 57% of its total sales from 2015 to 2023, according to the Fair Trade Commission. Its construction capability ranking rose from 228th in 2014 to 77th last year. Daebang Industrial Development's five subsidiaries reportedly earned a total sales of 511.3 billion won during the same period.