Police Launch Full Investigation into Yoo Dong-gyu's Phone in 'Daejang-dong Scandal'... Could It Be the Smoking Gun?

Dedicated Investigation Team Investigates Legal Reform Representative as Complainant in the Afternoon

Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and a key figure in the 'Daejang-dong Development Project Favoritism' allegations, was taken to Seoul Detention Center by a transport vehicle after undergoing a detention hearing for charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust) at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 3rd.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police have launched a full-scale investigation into the mobile phone of Yoo Dong-gyu, the former head of planning at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation (52, currently detained), who is a key figure in the ‘Daejang-dong scandal’ allegations. Attention is focused on whether Yoo’s mobile phone will become the ‘smoking gun’ that reveals the suspicions.

According to the police on the 12th, the dedicated investigation team of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency summoned Lee Jong-bae, the representative of the Rule of Law Restoration Solidarity (Beopse-ryeon), who filed a complaint against the former custodian of Yoo’s old mobile phone on charges including evidence concealment, as a complainant for questioning. Earlier this month, Beopse-ryeon reported to the police a mobile phone seller who was allegedly holding Yoo’s old mobile phone, claiming, “This mobile phone is key evidence that can reveal the substance of the Daejang-dong case and the involvement of higher-ups, and the seller who is holding it is clearly concealing evidence.”

Earlier, on the 7th, the police secured a mobile phone believed to have been thrown out the window after analyzing CCTV footage around Yoo’s residence. They are currently coordinating schedules to begin digital forensic analysis with Yoo, who is detained. However, this mobile phone is a recently activated device by Yoo, so it is uncertain whether it contains crucial evidence to clarify the Daejang-dong allegations.

Accordingly, securing the mobile phone that Yoo used in the past is expected to be an important variable in the ongoing investigation. Yoo claimed during the prosecution’s investigation that he entrusted the mobile phone to a seller but did not disclose who that person was. With the formal investigation initiated following Beopse-ryeon’s complaint, it is expected that the police will investigate the seller. If, as Yoo claims, the seller still holds the phone, the police may secure it during the investigation, but there is also a possibility that it has already been discarded, making swift investigation necessary.

Meanwhile, the police’s dedicated investigation team is currently conducting a combined investigation into three cases: the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) notification case transferred from the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul, the Daejang-dong development preferential treatment allegations reported by civic groups, and the case involving former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do’s son receiving 5 billion KRW in retirement pay from Hwacheon Daeyu. Recently, they summoned and questioned a businessman related to former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, who is known to have received 10 billion KRW from Kwak’s son, Lee Han-sung (representative of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 1), and Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, and are analyzing development project-related materials obtained from Seongnam City.

However, as the investigation, initially focused on suspicious fund flows of Hwacheon Daeyu, expanded to cover the entire Daejang-dong allegations, overlapping investigative scopes between the prosecution and police have raised ongoing efficiency concerns. At a recent National Assembly audit of the National Police Agency, members from both ruling and opposition parties pointed out the need to form a joint prosecution-police investigation headquarters. A police official stated, “There have been no concrete discussions between the two sides yet.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.