Another Delay in Investigation of Daejang-dong Upper Echelons... Civic Groups File Reconsideration Request

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The prosecution's investigation into the upper echelons involved in the preferential treatment and lobbying allegations related to the Daejang-dong development in Seongnam City is once again failing to gain momentum. The summons of Jeong Jinsang, the Deputy Chief of the Secretariat of the Democratic Party of Korea’s Central Election Countermeasures Committee and former Seongnam City Policy Director?who was a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate?is being delayed. Although the prosecution has decided to summon him for questioning, the actual investigation has not yet taken place.

According to the legal community on the 15th, the dedicated investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (led by Kim Tae-hoon) had originally scheduled Jeong’s summons for questioning on the 8th, but the investigation was postponed due to Jeong’s personal circumstances.

Jeong, as the former Seongnam City Policy Director, directly oversaw key approval matters related to the Daejang-dong development. This included numerous documents that could identify private business operators, such as investment approval reviews and changes to urban development project zone plans.

Jeong is also suspected of being involved in pressuring Hwang Mu-seong, the inaugural president of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, to resign. The investigation team needs to verify whether Jeong pressured former President Hwang to step down and whether candidate Lee was involved in this matter. The issue is that the statute of limitations for the alleged resignation pressure is seven years. The investigation team must conclude the allegations regarding former President Hwang’s resignation by early next month at the latest.

In response, a civic group that reported the 'resignation pressure' allegations has requested the court to decide on whether to indict those involved. The Civic Group for Judicial Preparation Students (Sajunmo) submitted a request for reconsideration regarding the criminal complaint against candidate Lee and Deputy Chief Jeong to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday morning.

A request for reconsideration is a system where a complainant or an accuser of crimes such as abuse of power can apply to the court for a review when they receive a non-prosecution notice from the prosecutor. If the court finds the request reasonable and decides to prosecute the case, it is legally considered as an indictment. This system aims to prevent the drawbacks of the prosecutor’s exclusive right to prosecute and discretionary prosecution, ensuring fair exercise of prosecutorial authority.

The request for reconsideration is made after a prosecutor’s non-prosecution decision and an appeal under the Prosecutors’ Office Act. However, if the prosecutor does not file charges by 30 days before the statute of limitations expires, the complainant or accuser can directly file a request for reconsideration. In such cases, the statute of limitations is suspended until the reconsideration decision is finalized.

In the request for reconsideration, Sajunmo pointed out, "The statute of limitations for the abuse of power or coercion charges against the respondents at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office will expire in about 20 days. However, despite the imminent expiration, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has not even properly summoned candidate Lee and Deputy Chief Jeong." They added, "After the applicant reported the respondents to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the Anti-Corruption and Strong Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office accepted the case on October 27 last year. The recording submitted by former President Hwang to the prosecution appears to have been made around February 6, 2015, and the statute of limitations for the respondents’ alleged crimes of abuse of power or coercion is seven years, which will expire in about 20 days, making it impossible to punish the respondents."

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

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