Prosecutors dismissed the case related to allegations that former President Yoon Suk-yeol and former special prosecutor Park Young-soo received bribes through Hwacheon Daeyu. It comes about four years after prosecutors took over the case in 2022.
According to legal sources on the 16th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (headed by Director General Guk Won) dismissed on the 11th the case against the former president and the former special prosecutor on charges including bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, breach of duty for personal gain, and dereliction of duty.
The cases against SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management's major shareholder Kim Man-bae, and former Hwacheon Daeyu CEO Lee Sung-moon, on charges of offering bribes and breach of duty, were also understood to have been dismissed.
Dismissal is a disposition that closes a case without a ruling on the merits when it does not meet the requirements for litigation.
Regarding the allegations, prosecutors appear to have determined that supporting materials were insufficient or that the showing did not rise to the level requiring an investigation.
In September 2021, the civic group Citizens' Action to Establish Judicial Justice filed a complaint with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, raising allegations that the former president and the former special prosecutor received bribes from the chairman through Hwacheon Daeyu.