“I’m sorry to cause concern. The truth will be revealed soon,” Former special prosecutor Park Young-soo attends his warrant review

Park Young-soo, the former special prosecutor suspected of being part of the so-called “5 billion club,” which allegedly received bribes in exchange for helping private developers in the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi, heads to the courtroom for his warrant review (questioning of suspect prior to arrest) at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on June 29. Kwon Do-hyun

On June 29, Park Young-soo said, “I apologize for causing the people concern,” and denied allegations that the former special prosecutor was involved in the so-called “5 billion club,” a group of people who received bribes in exchange for helping private developers secure profits in the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi.

Around 9:40 a.m. Thursday, Park arrived at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul for his arrest warrant review (questioning of the suspect prior to arrest) and denied the charges telling the press that he would sincerely and faithfully give his statement to the judge. He added, “I am certain that the truth will soon be revealed.”

When asked if he still denied exerting influence on Woori Bank now that his acquaintances have admitted their charges, the former special prosecutor said he yes. He did not answer when asked whether he demanded rewards of nearly 20 billion won in exchange for his services from the private developers in Daejang-dong and whether he intentionally destroyed his cell phone.

Park is charged with receiving 800 million won (acceptance of property according to the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes) and promises of a large sum of money in exchange for special favors for a consortium of private developers in connection with the Daejang-dong development project, when he served as the chair of the Woori Bank board of directors in 2015.

Woori Bank had originally considered a plan to join the consortium, Seongnamuiddeul (Seongnam Garden), as an investor, but instead, the bank decided to join the project financing loans and submitted a letter stating their willingness to offer loans of 150 billion won. As a result, Seongnam Garden received high scores in the assessment of private businesses and was selected as the private developer for the Daejang-dong project.

Park Young-soo was mentioned as a key figure since the early days of the Daejang-dong investigation, but he stood in court to determine his arrest a year and ten months after the probe was first launched. Among those suspected of being part of the 5 billion club, Park was the second person to have an arrest warrant requested following former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do. Park’s arrest will be determined as early as Thursday night.