Prosecutors Investigate Former Seongnam City Urban Development Project Head... Accelerating Probe into Daejang-dong Higher-Ups

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution, revisiting the lobbying and preferential treatment allegations related to the Daejang-dong development, is accelerating its investigation into higher-ups by consecutively summoning Seongnam city officials who were in charge of the project at the time.

According to the legal community, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) is questioning former and current officials, including Mr. A, who served as the head of Seongnam City's Urban Development Project Team from 2011 to 2013.

The prosecution is reportedly confirming with Mr. A and others the background of the decision in 2012 to combine the Daejang-dong development with the conversion of the 1st Industrial Complex into a park, as well as the differences between the combined development method and the separate development method.

The Urban Development Project Team was responsible for establishing the project plan and feasibility review during the Daejang-dong development promotion and later renamed the Cultural City Project Team, handling the overall permits and approvals for the Daejang-dong development.

In June 2012, when Mr. A was the head, Seongnam City announced a combined development method that linked the Daejang-dong site development project with the 'Seongnam City 1st Industrial Complex' park project. However, after the Daejang-dong development shifted to a public-private partnership in 2016, the two projects were separated, with the Daejang-dong development proceeding first.

The prosecution views this decision as having been made according to the intentions of private developers aiming to expedite the Daejang-dong development project. Employees of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and others testified as witnesses in the trial of Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management. Lawyer Jeong Min-yong, who worked as the head of the corporation's strategic business team, also testified that he obtained approval from then Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung (currently a member of the Democratic Party) for the '1st Industrial Complex separate development' document at that time.

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