DAEJANG-DONG LAND SPECULATION SCANDAL

[Anchor Lead]

The Daejang-dong land speculation scandal has now spread to People Power Party Rep. Kwak Sang-do. It started during the verification of presidential hopeful Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party. Kwak Sang-do's son, who used to work for the firm that is at the center of the scandal, has been found to have received a 5 billion won severance pay for six years of service. The amount appears excessive for someone who received a monthly wage of just two or three million won. The lawmaker says his son has not committed anything illegal, but the controversy continues to brew.

[Pkg]

Hwacheon Daeyu is at the center of the Daejang-dong land speculation scandal. People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-do's son joined the firm in June 2015 and worked there until March 2021. He received a monthly wage ranging from 2.3 million to 3.8 million won. A month after quitting, he received 5 billion won. The amount is similar to the combined wages of the firm's employees over the past five years. The largest annual severance paid since the firm's founding was just 120 million won.

[Soundbite] Choi Sung-sil(Certified public accountant) : "Given Kwak's average monthly pay and period of service, his severance pay is estimated at around KRW 22 mn."

Kwak's son provided an explanation of how he joined and quit the company and why he was paid 5 billion won. He says his father introduced him to Hwacheon Daeyu. The money he received upon retirement includes not only a seven-year severance pay but also bonuses and other allowances. He claims the actual amount received is just 2.8 billion won. Kwak's son also mentioned the severance pay is the result of the company's booming profits, and denied that his father was behind the remuneration. Kwak's son added his father had not been aware of this until recently. The lawmaker also denied his involvement in his son's career. He also accused Gyeonggi-do Governor Lee Jae-myung of creating a structure that makes it easy to earn money.

[Soundbite] Kwak Sang-do(PPP Rep.) : "My son did work at the firm. I admit that the amount is quite large, but I didn't determine it. They decided on how much they could pay him."

Hwacheon Daeyu officials claim the amount paid to Kwak's son includes bonuses for the successful Daejang-dong land development project and that no irregularities have been committed.