Prosecutors to Begin Investigation into Upper Echelons of Daejang-dong... When Will Jeong Jin-sang Be Summoned?

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Attention is focused on the investigation into the higher-ups by the prosecution, who are investigating allegations of preferential treatment and lobbying in the Daejang-dong development in Seongnam City. It is anticipated that Jeong Jinsang, Deputy Chief of the Secretariat of the Democratic Party of Korea's Central Election Committee and former Seongnam City Policy Director, who was a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, will be summoned. The prosecution is also expected to decide on the detention of those involved in the so-called "50 billion club."

According to the legal community on the 8th, the dedicated investigation team of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Team Leader Kim Tae-hoon) will soon summon Deputy Chief Jeong as a suspect for questioning. Some speculate that Deputy Chief Jeong and the investigation team are still coordinating the date of his appearance.

Deputy Chief Jeong, as the former Seongnam City Policy Director, personally approved key official documents related to the Daejang-dong development reported between 2013 and 2016. Among these were documents verifying private business operators, including investment approval reviews and changes to urban development project area plans.

Deputy Chief Jeong is also suspected of being involved in pressuring Hwang Mu-seong, the inaugural president of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, to resign. If summoned, the investigation team is expected to examine whether Deputy Chief Jeong pressured former President Hwang to resign and whether candidate Lee was involved. Considering that the statute of limitations for the resignation pressure allegation is seven years, the investigation team must conclude the inquiry into former President Hwang's resignation allegations by early next month at the latest.

Deputy Chief Jeong is also known to have had several phone calls with Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, who was identified as a "key man" in the early stages of the Daejang-dong scandal. It is reported that Deputy Chief Jeong and former Director Yoo communicated around the time Yoo was subjected to a search and seizure.

Meanwhile, the investigation team is expected to soon decide on the detention direction for former National Assembly member Kwak Sang-do. Former Assemblyman Kwak faces the most concrete charges among the so-called "50 billion club" members, but a previous arrest warrant by the investigation team was dismissed. The indictment status of Park Young-soo, a former special prosecutor and another key figure in the lobbying allegations, remains uncertain. Although the investigation team summoned former Special Prosecutor Park again after about 40 days, it is reported that no statements advancing the investigation were obtained. The team also summoned a lawyer from the law firm where former Special Prosecutor Park worked as a witness to verify involvement in the Daejang-dong planning process, but no incriminating evidence was found.

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