Prosecutors Reveal 'Preferential Treatment Evidence' in Daejang-dong Case in Court... Granted Grade A This Year and Blocked External Access

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution revealed a large number of documents in court as evidence suggesting that Seongnam Urban Development Corporation (Seongnam UDC) gave preferential treatment to Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu) during the Daejang-dong development project.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Lee Jun-cheol) held the 17th trial on the 25th for former Seongnam UDC Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu, major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Kim Man-bae, lawyer Nam Wook, lawyer Jeong Min-yong, and accountant Jeong Young-hak.

During the evidence investigation conducted that day, the prosecution disclosed documents generated during the Daejang-dong project process in court and explained their significance.

The prosecution presented lawyer Jeong Min-yong’s private business operator evaluation sheet, claiming that while working as the head of the investment team in the corporation’s strategic business team, Jeong gave preferential treatment to Hwacheon Daeyu during the selection process of private business operators. Jeong joined Seongnam UDC through an introduction by lawyer Nam Wook.

According to this, Jeong marked an "A" for the Seongnam E Deul consortium in the categories of "Establishment and Operation Plan of Asset Management Company" and "Organization and Personnel Operation Plan of Asset Management Company," while marking "X" for the other two consortia.

The prosecution stated, "Lawyer Jeong violated the scoring criteria by assigning zero points to other operators," and "Jeong gave an A in all categories to Seongnam E Deul."

Additionally, the prosecution claimed that after designing the public offering guidelines favorably for Hwacheon Daeyu, Jeong prohibited employees of the corporation’s development headquarters from viewing the documents under the pretext of "maintaining confidentiality" due to concerns about potential issues.

Furthermore, the prosecution pointed out concerns within the corporation about private operators gaining excessive profits by presenting the minutes of the corporation’s board meeting held on May 29, 2015.

Besides this, documents such as the "Feasibility Study Report on the Combined Development of Daejang-dong 1st Industrial Complex," approved by then Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung in 2011-2012 before Hwacheon Daeyu was designated as a private operator, were also disclosed.

These documents included plans to designate Daejang-dong as an urban development district to accommodate 3,100 households and develop the area, as well as content stating that approximately 320 billion KRW of city finances could be expanded through development profits.

The court had planned to hold the next trial on the 28th of this month, but decided to postpone it after former Hwacheon Daeyu CEO Lee Seong-moon, who was scheduled to appear as a witness, recently tested positive for COVID-19. Accordingly, on April 1, former Seongnam UDC President Hwang Mu-seong will be called as a witness for questioning, followed by the examination of former CEO Lee on April 4.

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