Prosecutors Conclude 'No Charges' in Allegations of Preferential Treatment at Dongtan Lotte Department Store

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] The prosecution has decided not to indict the related parties after failing to find any evidence of wrongdoing in the investigation into allegations of corruption during Lotte Group's selection as the department store operator in Dongtan 2 New Town.

According to the prosecution on the 19th, the Crime Proceeds Recovery Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office decided on the 9th not to indict seven former and current employees of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), including former LH President Lee, due to insufficient evidence. Lotte officials and design company employees, who were suspected of giving bribes to these LH employees, were also not indicted.

Lotte Group was selected as the department store operator for Dongtan 2 New Town, a project ordered by LH in 2015. However, suspicions arose when the Lotte Shopping Consortium was chosen as the preferred negotiation partner despite offering 355.7 billion won, about 58 billion won less than the Hyundai Consortium. During the LH audit at the time, allegations surfaced that Kim, former head of the Incheon Regional Headquarters and an LH evaluation committee member, gave Lotte a higher score than other committee members.

Earlier this year, as a nationwide crackdown on real estate corruption began following suspicions of land speculation by LH employees, the prosecution conducted its own investigation. However, the prosecution concluded that there was no suspicious transaction between LH and Lotte.

The prosecution judged that in the selection process, the final successful bidder was chosen by summing the evaluation scores from various areas beyond just the bid price, and the Lotte Consortium received the highest score, leading to its selection as the operator.

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