[Daechang-dong Investigation Fallout] Prosecution Misses Kim Man-bae, Late Seongnam City Hall Raid Conducted

Investigation into Related Allegations Unavoidable for Seongnam City and Seongnam City Council... Return of Lawyer Nam Wook Also a Turning Point

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The prosecution, investigating the lobbying and preferential treatment allegations related to the Daejang-dong development project, has conducted a search and seizure at Seongnam City Hall. Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, the key institution in this case, was managed and supervised by Seongnam City Hall, and at the time, the mayor of Seongnam was Lee Jae-myung, the Governor of Gyeonggi Province.

According to the legal community on the 15th, the dedicated investigation team of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office sent prosecutors to Seongnam City Hall around 9 a.m. to secure related materials from the departments involved in the Daejang-dong development project.

Seongnam City is the institution holding various permits and approvals for the Daejang-dong project. Documents such as the "Review Report on Investment Approval for Corporations Related to the Promotion of the Daejang-dong Development Project," prepared by the Seongnam City Administrative Planning Bureau in January 2015, and official documents personally approved by Mayor Lee at the time, remain on record.

In particular, according to the articles of incorporation of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, which led the Daejang-dong development project, matters concerning the acquisition and disposal of significant assets must be reported to the mayor. Seongnam Urban Development Corporation is an institution established with 100% investment from Seongnam City.

Moreover, it is known that Mayor Lee personally approved matters related to the Daejang-dong project, such as feasibility studies, urban development zone designation plans, and reviews of plans to recover consulting fees during the development process. The prosecution plans to summon an employee from the Administrative Planning Bureau who was involved in preparing these documents as a witness for investigation.

The targets of the search and seizure are reported to include the Cultural City Project Team, which oversaw the Daejang-dong development project, and departments related to permits and approvals such as the Urban Housing Bureau, Education Culture Environment Bureau, and Information and Communication Division. Among these, the Education Culture Environment Bureau holds cultural heritage-related materials within the Daejang-dong project site, and the Information and Communication Division holds email-related materials.

This search and seizure was conducted just one day after Lee Jung-soo, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, stated at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's inspection that Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, is "accused and under investigation."

However, while investigations into Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, where former Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu worked, and Hwacheon Daeyu, where Mr. Kim is a major shareholder, have progressed rapidly, investigations into Seongnam City and the Seongnam City Council, which supervised and monitored these entities, have been delayed, leading to criticism that the initial investigation was inadequate.

Opposition parties have consistently argued that an investigation into Governor Lee, who appointed former Director Yoo and ultimately approved the Daejang-dong project, must be conducted. This is based on the judgment that if he was aware of and approved the project structure that excessively concentrated development profits to private operators, he could also be considered a "co-principal offender of breach of trust."

There are calls to expedite the search and seizure of the Seongnam City Council following Seongnam City Hall. This is due to the possibility that money flowed to council members through related parties. In fact, a recording submitted to the prosecution by accountant Jeong, owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 5, an investor in the Daejang-dong development project, reportedly contains content stating that "3 billion KRW was delivered to the chairman of the Seongnam City Council and 2 billion KRW to council members."

Meanwhile, the dedicated investigation team of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, investigating the preferential treatment allegations in the Daejang-dong development, has begun coordinating additional investigation schedules for related persons along with supplementary investigations into Mr. Kim.

The first person mentioned is lawyer Nam Wook. Lawyer Nam is another key figure in the Daejang-dong development preferential treatment allegations and has led the project since 2009 along with accountant Jeong Young-hak and others. When LH (Korea Land and Housing Corporation) was promoting public development of Daejang-dong, he was tried for receiving money with a request to help change it to private development.

The investigation team is currently coordinating the investigation schedule with lawyer Nam. He is expected to return to Korea early next week and has submitted a notice of legal representation to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office through a major law firm he appointed. The prosecution has also reportedly requested lawyer Nam to enter the country within next week. The investigation team plans to secure his custody immediately upon his return.

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