“13 Billion Won in Illegal Rebates From a 35 Billion Won Contract”: Accomplice Changes Testimony Five Years After Hakdong Disaster

Five years after a collapsing building in Gwangju’s Hakdong redevelopment district killed nine people and injured eight, a key contractor has changed his testimony and submitted evidence alleging a large illegal payment.

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About 1.3 billion won from the 3.5 billion won tree-planting contract went at J’s request as an illegal rebate?

During an appeals hearing on Aug. 18, prosecutors asked the landscaping contractor, identified by the pseudonym Hong Kyung-ho, whether about 1.3 billion won from a 3.5 billion won tree-planting contract had gone to the former head of the redevelopment association at his request. Hong answered, “Yes.” He also agreed that documents submitted to explain differences between the trees listed in the contract and the number actually planted were false.

The former association chief, identified as J, died on June 16, one week after the fifth anniversary of the June 9, 2021 disaster. A building being demolished in Hakdong 4 District fell onto a bus stopped at a station, killing nine passengers and injuring eight. The court dismissed the charges against J after his death, but prosecutors argued that Hong’s revised account remained relevant to determining Hong’s own sentence.

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Yes.

Hong objected to being questioned, saying that he would bear all the responsibility if the case ended as it stood. The court rejected the objection and allowed prosecutors to question him as a defendant after they argued that the alleged illegal money transfers should affect his punishment.

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If the court simply reaches a verdict as things stand, I will have to bear all the responsibility. I am suffering so much that I cannot live like this.

J had faced charges tied to redevelopment corruption in nearby Hakdong 3 District. Most of the charges were dismissed at trial in December 2024, while he received an 800,000-won fine for violating redevelopment law over private landscaping contracts. Prosecutors had focused on a pine tree contract worth 360 million won, part of 35.341 billion won in contracts signed with Hong over 13 occasions. Hong later told the Hankyoreh that J demanded money from the beginning and that contracts inflated tree prices or quantities before the excess was returned. He said he previously matched J’s account during the investigation and first trial because J had promised to cover additional taxes and legal fees.

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I could not refuse J’s demands, who was the association chief at the time, and blinded by foolish greed, I did not deeply consider how serious a crime it was.