Changwon city councilor referred over alleged acceptance of 450 million won in exchange for apartment construction contract

[Financial News] A Changwon city councilor in South Gyeongsang Province has been sent to prosecutors on suspicion of receiving 450 million won from a company in exchange for awarding it a construction contract while serving as chair of an apartment residents’ representative council.
According to police on the 7th, Masan Jungbu Police Station referred Changwon city councilor Cho Eun-woo to the Masan Branch of the Changwon Regional Public Prosecution Office without detention in the middle of last month on suspicion of receiving bribes in breach of trust.
Councilor Cho is suspected of receiving a total of 450 million won from a company in about eight installments after being solicited in connection with a contract to paint the underground parking garage while serving as chair of the residents’ representative council at Wolyeong Marine A Xiang apartment in Masanhappo District, Changwon, from February to October 2024.
Police concluded that Councilor Cho was involved in the contractor-selection process and that the company that made the solicitation was awarded the contract.
Police also referred A, a construction company official in their 70s who provided money to Councilor Cho, on suspicion of offering bribes in breach of trust. They charged three people involved in transferring the money with aiding and abetting the offering of bribes in breach of trust, and two people involved in the receipt with aiding and abetting the receipt of bribes in breach of trust.
The investigation began after a civic group filed a complaint in July. During the investigation, police sought an order to preserve for confiscation the amount they determined Councilor Cho had received, and the court granted the request.
Councilor Cho left the Democratic Party of Korea on July 28, after the complaint was filed. At the time, he explained, “Since I had been accused, I decided it would be better to be investigated without a party affiliation, so I left the party.”
In September, residents of the apartment complex also held a press conference in front of Changwon City Council, calling for the facts of the case to be established and for an ethics review by the council.

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