Police Arrest Former Seongnam City Council Chairman Choi Yoon-gil on 4 Billion Won Suspicion Warrant

Choi Yoon-gil, who served as the chairman of the Seongnam City Council during the Daejang-dong development, is appearing at the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on the afternoon of November 26 last year to be investigated for bribery charges.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] The police have decided to detain and investigate Choi Yoon-gil, who served as the chairman of the Seongnam City Council at the time, in connection with allegations of corruption involving the Seongnam City Council during the development process of Daejang-dong in Seongnam City.

According to the police on the 14th, the dedicated investigation team for the Daejang-dong allegations at the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency applied for an arrest warrant for Choi on the 11th. Choi was charged with bribery. The arrest warrant was filed two days later on the 13th, and Choi is expected to undergo a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) early next week.

In February 2013, when Choi was the chairman of the Seongnam City Council, he took the lead in submitting and passing the ordinance to establish the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, which became the starting point for the Daejang-dong development, at the plenary session. After stepping down from his position as chairman, he is suspected of receiving a performance bonus of 4 billion KRW from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, and others while working as an executive at Hwacheon Daeyu, as a reward for leading the passage of the ordinance at that time.

The police have continued their investigation, including conducting a search and seizure of Choi’s residence in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, and Hwacheon Daeyu’s office in Seongnam City on November 17 last year, and summoning him as a suspect for questioning on the 26th of the same month. It is reported that Choi denied most of the charges during the police interrogation.

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