Prosecution summons Daebang Construction CEO as suspect for 'reselling public land to affiliates'

[Field News = Lee Seung-chul reporter] Daebang Construction, which was recently hit with a tax bill in the tens of billions of won by tax authorities, is now suffering from "double hardships" as it falls under the scope of a prosecution investigation.

The prosecution, which is investigating allegations of Daebang Construction reselling public land to its affiliates, is questioning CEO Koo Chan-woo as a suspect on the morning of the 18th.

Following a complaint by the Fair Trade Commission last month, the prosecution is investigating charges that Daebang Construction provided unfair support by reselling public land it won through bids to affiliates such as Daebang Industrial Development.

Accordingly, the prosecution launched a full-scale investigation by conducting a search and seizure of the Daebang Construction Group affiliates' offices on the 7th on suspicion of violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act.

Previously, the Fair Trade Commission filed a complaint with the prosecution, alleging that from November 2014 to March 2020, Daebang Construction provided unfair support by reselling six pieces of public land to Daebang Industrial Development—in which the daughter and daughter-in-law of Chairman Koo Kyo-woon hold stakes—and five subsidiaries, and imposed a total fine of 20.5 billion won.

The public land resold by Daebang Construction is located in Seoul and metropolitan new cities and innovation cities, such as Magok, Dongtan, Jeonnam Innovation City, and Chungnam Naepo. It is known that these were "prime" lands with abundant development prospects.

The Fair Trade Commission also identified that Daebang Construction secured public land through so-called "swarm bidding," a method of using multiple affiliates to increase the possibility of winning bids through irregular means.

In addition, the 1st Investigation Bureau of the Incheon Regional Tax Office has been conducting an "irregular" tax audit against Daebang Construction since late September last year, collecting approximately 10 billion won in taxes, including corporate tax.