'Daejangdong Special Favor Allegation' Kim Man-bae Appears for Warrant Hearing... "It's All a Misunderstanding"

Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu involved in the Daejang-dong scandal, is attending the warrant hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 3rd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management and a key figure in the Daejang-dong development preferential treatment and lobbying allegations, appeared at the court on the 3rd for a pre-arrest detention hearing. Kim appeared at the Seoul Central District Court around 10:10 a.m. and responded to reporters asking whether he admitted the charges by saying, "I deny everything," and added, "I will sincerely provide explanations."

On the 3rd, Seo Bo-min, the presiding judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, is scheduled to hold Kim’s pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant substantive examination) to assess the necessity of detention. This is 20 days after he was released following the first detention hearing on the 14th of last month.

When asked by reporters about the suspicion of a 70 billion KRW agreement involving former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu, Kim emphasized, "There is no reason or promise to give such a large sum of money," and said, "It is all distortion and misunderstanding." Regarding the claim that he only followed the instructions of then-Mayor Lee Jae-myung of Seongnam City, he said, "That person carried out the best administration, and we acted according to his administrative guidelines," adding, "We applied for the public offering based on the policies presented by the city."

However, about the prosecution not requesting an arrest warrant for accountant Jung Young-hak, who led the project design, Kim said, "The prosecution must have its own reasons," and refrained from further comment, saying, "It’s hard for me to say anything."

Meanwhile, Kim is accused of conspiring with former Planning Director Yoo, lawyer Nam Wook, owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 4, accountant Jung Young-hak, owner of No. 5, and others to funnel at least 65.1 billion KRW in land development dividend profits and substantial project profits to Hwacheon Daeyu during the Daejang-dong development project, causing losses to the corporation. He is also charged with promising to pay 70 billion KRW of the dividend profits to former Director Yoo as a bribe and embezzling 500 million KRW of company funds to give as a bribe.

After the suspect hearing, Kim will be taken to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, to await the results of the warrant examination. The decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant for Kim is expected to be announced as early as late on the 3rd or by early morning on the 4th.

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