Office of former Supreme Court judge raided in connection with development scandal

Prosecutors on Thursday raided the office of former Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il as part of an investigation in connection with a high-profile property development scandal. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office sent investigators to Kwon's office to seize evidence, officials said. The raid came as part of the prosecution's corruption investigation into allegations that several former high-ranking government officials were illegally promised 5 billion won (US$3.8 million) each by management firm Hwacheon Daeyu. Hwacheon Daeyu is at the center of a high-profile development scandal involving a lucrative apartment development project in the Daejang-dong district of Seongnam, launched while Democratic Party Chair Lee Jae-myung was the mayor of the city. Kwon, who served as a judge at the Supreme Court from 2014-20, has been accused of having served as an adviser for Hwacheon Daeyu without officially registering himself as a lawyer. Suspicions against him also include that he used his casting vot e in favor of Lee Jae-myung, then Gyeonggi mayor, in the top court's 2020 acquittal of him in connection with official election law violation charges, in return for alleged financial rewards. Source: Yonhap News Agency