Prosecutors Request Arrest Warrant for Yuhan-gi over 'Daejang-dong Bribery Allegations'... Hearing on December 14

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The prosecution investigating the preferential treatment and lobbying allegations in the Daejang-dong development case has requested an arrest warrant for Yuhan-gi, former head of the Development Project Headquarters at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation (age 66, currently president of Pocheon Urban Corporation). This is interpreted as due to concerns over potential evidence destruction, as Yuhan-gi denies multiple allegations.

According to the legal community on the 9th, the dedicated investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Taehoon) filed a pre-arrest warrant request against former head Yuhan-gi in the afternoon on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. Whether he will be detained is expected to be decided through a detention hearing conducted by Judge Moon Seonggwan, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, starting at 10:30 a.m. on the 14th.

Yuhan-gi is suspected of receiving 200 million won in slush funds under the pretext of lobbying the Hangang River Basin Environmental Office from Kim Man-bae (age 57, indicted in custody), the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), and other private contractors involved in the Daejang-dong development project in August 2014.

The prosecution's view is that Kim and others procured lobbying funds from Lee, the representative of the apartment sales company in Daejang-dong and a relative of former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, and that accountant Jung Young-hak handed over 200 million won to former head Yuhan-gi in an underground parking lot of a hotel in Seoul.

Former head Yuhan-gi denies the allegations, stating he has never met Kim and did not receive any money.

Yuhan-gi was the department head responsible for the practical work of the Daejang-dong development project in 2015 and was considered the second-in-command within Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, following former Planning Headquarters Chief Yoo Dong-gyu (age 52, indicted in custody). In March 2015, during the selection process of private business operators for Daejang-dong, he served as the chairperson of the evaluation committee for the first round of absolute evaluation of consortium applications and as the chairperson of the subcommittee for the second round of relative evaluation.

Yuhan-gi is also suspected of pressuring Hwang Mu-seong, the inaugural president of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation under Seongnam City, the main entity of the Daejang-dong project, to resign around February 2015. However, this matter was not included in the current arrest warrant charges.

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