PROSECUTORS APPEAL RULING ON KWAK SANG-DO

[Anchor Lead]

Controversy continues to brew over the Daejangdong land development scandal involving Main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. Recently, the court ruled that the five billion won received from the developer of the project Hwacheon Daeyu, by the son of former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do did not constitute bribery. The court ruling immediately sparked criticism, prompting prosecutors to appeal the ruling on Monday, just five days after the first ruling. Even the prosecutor general said the not-guilty verdict was "unacceptable."

[Pkg]

As soon as a court ruled that the five billion won received from Hwacheon Daeyu by the son of former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do did not constitute bribery, Kwak said it was an "expected outcome" an apparent swipe at prosecutors who indicted him.

[Soundbite] Kwak Sang-do(Former lawmaker(Feb. 8)) : "I expected that kind of ruling. I knew I would be acquitted. Nobody said it was bribery."

The verdict has sparked criticism from the judicial circles, prompting prosecutors to appeal the ruling five days later. They said the lower court's ruling runs counter to the presented evidence, the principles of law, social norms and common sense. Prosecutors took issue with the ruling acknowledging the fact that the funds received by Kwak's son were work-related, but that they were not intended for Kwak himself. They also took issue with Hwacheon Daeyu's majority shareholder Kim Man-bae's testimony in the audio files on the Daejang-dong land development scandal not being accepted as evidence, even though Kim admitted to saying the comments on the files. In a rare move, senior prosecutors are also pushing for an appeal. Prosecutor General Lee One-seok, who received a report of the lower court ruling from Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office chief Song Kyung-ho the day after the verdict was issued, summoned the head of the criminal trial department on Monday. He said the not-guilty verdict was unacceptable and any suspected crimes must be investigated thoroughly to punish those guilty accordingly. Song later met with the chief of the criminal trial department and a deputy prosecutor to discuss maintenance of a public prosecution and further investigation. The court battle will likely intensify further as prosecutors have even expanded personnel to prepare for an appeal trial.