Prosecutors' Next Target: 'Kim' Lobby Suspicion... Will the Blade Turn to Lee Jae-myung?

Yoo Dong-gyu, Kim Man-bae, Nam Wook Detained, Investigation to Identify Higher-Ups... Focus on Confirming 'Lobbying and Breach of Trust' Following Preferential Treatment

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] With the prosecution securing the custody of Kim Man-bae and lawyer Nam Wook, the investigation into the preferential treatment and lobbying allegations related to the Daejang-dong development has entered a new phase. The investigative focus is expected to concentrate on identifying the 'upper echelon' involved in their breach of trust and bribery charges, with the involvement of Seongnam City Hall, which held management and supervisory authority over the Daejang-dong development, also under scrutiny. There is interest in whether the investigation will extend to Lee Jae-myung, then mayor of Seongnam, who was the final decision-maker.

On the 4th, the Daejang-dong Allegations Special Investigation Team (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-hoon) at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office began preparations to move the investigation toward the upper echelons, including the Seongnam city leadership, following the detention of Kim and lawyer Nam. Although they have not secured custody of lawyer Jeong Min-yong, who worked as the head of the Strategic Business Office at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation (Seongnam Urban Dev Corp), it appears they have uncovered some of the conspiracy charges involving the 'Daejang-dong family.'

The investigation team's next target is the lobbying allegations involving Kim. The team believes that between 2012 and 2013, Kim received requests from lawyer Nam and accountant Jeong Young-hak to lobby Seongnam City and the Seongnam City Council?who had the authority to determine the development method of the Daejang-dong project?to establish the corporation, and that Kim conducted lobbying efforts targeting Seongnam city council members.

In fact, the recordings submitted to the prosecution by accountant Jeong reportedly contain statements such as "3 billion KRW was delivered to the chairman of Seongnam City Council, 2 billion KRW to council members, and the actual funds amounted to 35 billion KRW." The chairman mentioned here is Choi Yoon-gil, former chairman of the Seongnam City Council, who served as chairman for two years starting in 2012 and passed the ordinance to establish the corporation in February 2013. Currently, Choi is suspected of receiving tens of billions of KRW in performance bonuses while working as an executive at Hwacheon Daeyu after connecting Kim to former head Yoo.

The 5 billion KRW severance pay received by Gwak Sang-do lawmaker's son, Byung-chae, who worked at Hwacheon Daeyu, is also part of the lobbying allegations involving Kim. The investigation team did not include the bribery charge of 5 billion KRW to lawmaker Gwak in Kim's first arrest warrant issued on the 12th. They plan to verify the connection with lawmaker Gwak through additional investigations after securing Kim's custody. Accordingly, the investigation team is expected to summon lawmaker Gwak soon to investigate the circumstances under which Hwacheon Daeyu delivered 5 billion KRW to Byung-chae and whether this money was a quid pro quo.

The investigation related to Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and former Seongnam Urban Dev Corp Development Business Headquarters head Yoo Han-gi, regarding abuse of authority and coercion charges, which has become a new main stream, is also expected to accelerate. Currently, the investigation team is analyzing recordings from former Seongnam Urban Dev Corp president Hwang Mu-seong, who claimed he was pressured to resign, to determine whether Seongnam City ordered a targeted audit against Hwang and whether there was involvement from the mayor's office or the audit office.

In particular, the investigation into former head Yoo is likely to intensify. It is clear that he was directly involved in the resignation process of former president Hwang and was involved in the selection process of private developers at the early stage of the Daejang-dong development. Recently, there have been indications that he received kickbacks from the Daejang-dong team, which the investigation team is currently verifying. The key point is that he allegedly received 200 million KRW from lawyer Nam and accountant Jeong.

The investigation team must also decide on the custody of accountant Jeong, who avoided an arrest warrant by providing recordings. Jeong voluntarily provided 19 recording files and actively cooperated with the investigation, becoming an initial driving force for the prosecution. However, he is known as the mastermind behind designing a structure where Seongnam Urban Dev Corp only took confirmed profits without recovering excess profits. Given that this case has escalated into a historic real estate corruption scandal and has attracted significant public attention, legal circles believe it will be difficult for him to avoid indictment.

Whether the investigation will directly question candidate Lee, who was the ultimate person responsible for the Daejang-dong development, or to what extent they will moderate the questioning if it proceeds, is also a matter of interest. The investigation team reportedly did not secure significant evidence during previous raids on Seongnam Urban Dev Corp and Seongnam City Hall. However, following the investigation team's official statement that "reports suggesting that candidate Lee will avoid or not be charged with breach of trust are unfounded. No conclusions have been reached yet," it is expected that responsibility regarding management and supervisory authority, including permits, will be clarified.

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