Yoo Dong-gyu, on 'Prosecutor's Persuasion' Allegation: "At Least, I Was Not Persuaded by Anything"

First Appearance at Daejangdong Trial After Release... "I Have Not Changed My Statement"

Former Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, who is under suspicion of preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong development project, is attending a trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 21st. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Yoo Dong-gyu, former head of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, appeared in court on the morning of the 21st for the trial regarding lobbying and preferential treatment allegations in the Daejang-dong development project. It was just one day after his release.

He appeared at the Seoul Central District Court around 9:30 a.m. to attend the trial as a defendant, presided over by the Criminal Division 22 (Chief Judge Lee Joon-cheol). When asked by reporters whether he testified during the prosecution’s investigation that he handed money to Kim Yong, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, he did not respond.

Former head Yoo engaged in a serious conversation with his lawyer sitting beside him. When Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), entered the courtroom wearing a prison uniform, Yoo smiled faintly and greeted him.

After the trial ended around 7 p.m., Yoo left the court and responded to suspicions of coercion and pressure from the prosecution by saying, "At the very least, I am not being coerced by anything."

When asked why he changed his testimony, he replied, "I have never changed my testimony." To the question, "Does that mean you never testified that you did not receive political funds from the prosecution?" he answered, "There is nothing related to that."

He did not answer questions about the reason for handing over 800 million won and left the court by taxi.

The court continued the witness examination of accountant Jung Young-hak on the same day.

Accountant Jung testified that during the prosecution’s investigation, private business operators from Hwacheon Daeyu asked lawyer Jung Min-yong to be employed as a corporation staff member and requested him to handle tasks in a biased manner, and in return, they supported living expenses and jeonse (key money) funds.

Kim’s defense lawyer challenged this by saying that the testimonies of related parties do not align with accountant Jung’s claims, asking, "Whose statement is correct when testimonies conflict? Is one of them lying?" Accountant Jung responded, "I testified to the best of my memory."

Former head Yoo was arrested and indicted in October last year on charges including breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. He is accused of conspiring with private business operators such as Kim and lawyer Nam Wook during the Daejang-dong development project to allocate enormous development profits and receiving bribes in return.

He was additionally detained for six more months after an arrest warrant was issued in April for obstruction of evidence but was released around midnight on the 20th due to the expiration of the detention period.

It is known that in a recent prosecution investigation, Yoo testified that from April to August last year, at the request of Deputy Director Kim, he received over 800 million won in cash in four installments from lawyer Nam as funds for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential primary campaign.

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