Kim Man-bae Appears for Second Warrant Hearing... "Collusion Conducted According to Seongnam City Policy" (Comprehensive)

Denies All Bribery and Breach of Trust Charges... "No Reason to Give Yudonggyu Large Sum"
Seven Lawyers Enter Dragging Suitcases vs Prosecution with Six Including Kim Iksu Deputy Chief Prosecutor Present
Namuk and Jeong Minyong Also Undergo Detention Hearings This Afternoon

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 Kim Daehyun] The detention of Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), lawyer Nam Wook, owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 4, and lawyer Jeong Min-yong, former head of strategic business at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation (Seongnam UDC), collectively known as the ‘Daejang-dong Trio,’ will be decided. As the core figures in the preferential treatment and lobbying allegations related to the Daejang-dong development, their detention will likely be a turning point determining the success of the prosecution’s future investigation.

On the 3rd, Seo Bo-min, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, held a pre-trial detention hearing for Kim in the morning to assess the necessity of detention. Kim, who was the first among them to be questioned, responded “Yes” to reporters’ question in front of the court, “Do you deny all bribery and breach of trust charges?” and stated, “We proceeded with the consortium according to the policy presented by Seongnam City.”

Regarding the suspicion of a 70 billion KRW agreement with Yoo Dong-gyu, former head of planning at Seongnam UDC, Kim claimed, “There is no reason or promise to give such a large sum of money,” and insisted, “It is all distortion and misunderstanding.” Particularly, when asked about the prosecution’s decision not to request an arrest warrant for accountant Jeong Young-hak, the person who submitted the recorded statements, Kim said, “The prosecution has its own circumstances, so it is difficult for me to comment.” When further asked, “Does this mean that if Mayor Lee is not charged with breach of trust, then you should not be either?” Kim replied, “I never said that,” and added, “It seems the media distorted it.”

Kim is undergoing his second detention hearing about 20 days after the court dismissed the first arrest warrant requested by the prosecution last month on charges of bribery, breach of trust, and embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Seven lawyers representing Kim entered the courtroom pulling suitcases. Considering that they had already submitted documents equivalent to two carts and had only brought one bag and one file folder during the previous hearing, it is interpreted that they are putting more effort into this second defense. On the other hand, six prosecutors, including Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Ik-soo, attended.

At 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., Judge Moon Seong-gwan, also in charge of warrants, will conduct detention hearings for lawyer Nam and lawyer Jeong. After the hearings, they will each be transferred to Seoul Detention Center to await the decision on their detention. The court is expected to decide on their detention either late at night or early morning on the 4th after reviewing the records.

On the 1st, the dedicated investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-hoon) additionally indicted former head Yoo on charges of breach of trust and bribery after previously indicting him on bribery charges under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. They also requested pre-trial detention warrants for Kim, lawyer Nam, and lawyer Jeong, applying accomplice charges. The prosecution’s view is that they conspired to manipulate Hwacheon Daeyu’s selection for the Daejang-dong public-private joint development project and diverted approximately 65.1 billion KRW in land development dividends and implementation profits to the private sector, causing losses to the corporation.

The prosecution faced criticism for ‘inadequate investigation’ after Kim’s warrant was dismissed last month, so securing their custody is expected to be a critical turning point for the investigation’s success. If the court accepts the prosecution’s claims and issues warrants for all three members of the Daejang-dong Trio, the link to former head Yoo, identified as an accomplice, will become clear, accelerating the so-called ‘upper-level’ investigation.

Conversely, if most warrants are dismissed, the investigation team’s original plan will be hindered, inevitably causing setbacks. Given that Kim’s first arrest warrant was dismissed by the court and that lawyer Nam was arrested and investigated immediately upon returning from the U.S. at Incheon Airport on the early morning of the 20th of last month but was released without an arrest warrant, the prosecution faces significant pressure regarding the issuance of these warrants.

Meanwhile, on the 10th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Yang Cheol-han) will hold the first trial for former head Yoo on charges of bribery and breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Although the additional indictment case against Yoo (breach of trust charges) has been assigned to the same court, the first hearing has not yet been scheduled, so the possibility of a consolidated trial on that day may be discussed.

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