Court Resumes After Recess... Major Trials Including Daejang-dong Case Stretch Limbs

Seoul Central District Court

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Courts across the country are reopening after the winter recess. Seoul Central District Court, the largest district court in the country, will resume trials of high-profile cases that have attracted public attention, including the Daejang-dong development project preferential treatment allegations and the Blue House Ulsan mayor election interference allegations.

According to the legal community on the 9th, the 22nd Criminal Division of Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Yang Cheol-han) will hold the first trial on the 10th for former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu, Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), lawyer Nam Wook, accountant Jeong Young-hak, and others. As it is a formal trial, all defendants including former Director Yoo must appear in court in person, unlike the previous two preparatory hearings.

Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho, former Ulsan Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs Song Byung-gi, and Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Un-ah will also be tried on the same day for election interference allegations. The witness examination procedure, which began in November last year, is expected to continue on this day as well. Until the previous hearing, only five witnesses, including Kim Gi-hyeon, the floor leader of the People Power Party, out of about 25 witnesses requested by the prosecution, have been examined.

The trial of Seoul High Prosecutor General Lee Seong-yoon will be held on the 12th. Prosecutor General Lee is accused of attempting to cover up the investigation into the illegal prevention of former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui’s departure from the country. The next day, Choi Kang-wook, leader of the Open Democratic Party, will stand trial. He is being tried for defamation of former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae. On the same day, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was indicted on allegations of unfair merger and accounting fraud, will also be tried.

The trial of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and his wife will resume on the 14th. In the last hearing before the recess, the court decided not to recognize the evidentiary value of the PCs seized from the lecturer’s lounge at Dongyang University, marking a new phase in the trial.

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