Seoul police have indicted independent National Assembly member Kang Sun-woo and former Seoul City Councilor Kim Kyung with detention requests after uncovering their receipt of 100 million won ($72,000) in bribes disguised as construction contracts. The payments served as rewards for political nominations following their successes in the 2022 local elections.
Indictment Charges and Evidence
The Gangseo Police Station’s public prosecution division forwarded the cases on March 11, citing violations including breach of trust through receiving bribes, Improper Solicitation and Graft Act breaches, and political funds law infractions. Both individuals face detention indictments for accepting funds tied to compensation possession, clear benefit embezzlement, and employee fund misappropriation.
Kang Sun-woo’s former secretary, Nam Mo-si, also directly received comparable illicit rewards and remains under investigation without custody.
Role of the Water Treatment Firm
Investigators confirmed direct involvement by executives at Oemul Jeongsu, a water purification company, in funneling the bribes. Despite appointing the firm’s president and verifying the structural engineer’s lobbying efforts—previously a party leader—no arrest warrants issued for top officials, who remain at large.
Background and Additional Suspicions
The scandal traces back to the 8th National Simultaneous Local Elections in 2022, where the politicians secured nominations. Analysis indicates the construction-linked bribes aimed to influence party decisions.
Further probes reveal Kang won the 2023 Gangseo District mayoral by-election primary and allegedly received around 103 million won from Kim Kyung via proxy donations. Kim faces separate allegations of lobbying construction firms to support other Democratic Party lawmakers.
Potential sentences include 2-4 years imprisonment for the 100 million won receipt, 10 months to 1 year 6 months for detention-related charges, up to 7-10 years for graft offenses, or 2 years 6 months to 3 years 6 months for construction-related violations.
Current Status
On March 3, both submitted bonds to the Mapo Police Station chief prosecutor. Should the case transfer to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, they will face scrutiny under the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Seoul Branch as formal suspects.
This investigation focuses solely on the 100 million won bribes, with other related suspicions handled by separate prosecutorial teams.
