Daejang-dong Executive Late Kim Moon-gi's Letter "Proposal for Excess Profit Clause... Not Reflected"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A handwritten letter by the late Kim Moon-gi, head of Development Division 1 at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, who was in charge of the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam City and took his own life during an investigation, has been revealed. He expressed his grievance, saying, "I proposed the excess profit recovery clause three times, but it was not reflected," and it was confirmed that he had requested legal support and other assistance.

On the 19th, Mr. A, Kim’s younger brother, disclosed a two-page letter titled "An Appeal to the President," which Kim had handwritten before his death.

In the letter, Kim stated, "I feel extremely wronged. I proposed the inclusion of the excess profit portion beyond the standards set by the company 'three times,' but it was not reflected," and added, "At that time, the executives made decisions based on the public offering guidelines and bidding plan standards." He also asserted his innocence, saying, "While working on the Daejang-dong project, I never received any instructions, pressure, or unfair demands from Yudong-gyu or Team Leader Jeong Min-yong." Kim emphasized, "On the contrary, I tried to represent the company's interests against private business operators and never received bribes or special favors from them."

In particular, regarding the company’s lack of support during the prosecution’s investigation, he expressed resentment and requested, "I ask for the prompt appointment of a professional lawyer."

However, the letter did not contain any content related to Lee Jae-myung, the then mayor of Seongnam City and the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate. It also did not specify who the executives at the time were or clarify his stance on suspicions of connections with higher-ups such as candidate Lee.

Previously, Kim claimed in an interview that he had included the excess profit recovery clause in the business agreement review opinion letter, but it disappeared seven hours later, likely because the Strategic Business Division, led by former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Headquarters Director Yudong-gyu, requested its removal. At that time, he said, "Although the decision was made based on a pre-determined profit method, from the perspective of the working department, we proposed this opinion to recover a little more if the market boomed."

Additionally, Mr. A disclosed the disciplinary resolution request document from Seongnam Urban Development Corporation following a special audit and the statement of circumstances submitted by Kim to the company, dated December 20 of last year, just one day before Kim’s extreme decision. Kim had been under an internal audit since September 25 of last year for allowing Jeong Min-yong, a lawyer who had resigned from the company and was a civilian at the time, to visit the corporation and view confidential documents such as the private business operator evaluation score sheet.

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