Prosecution Recovers Texts from Nam Wook and Bar Employee... Secures Evidence of Entertaining Kim Yong and Jeong Jin-sang

Nam Wook, a key figure in the Daejang-dong development preferential treatment allegations, is attending the warrant hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 3rd. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating the so-called 'illegal presidential election fund allegations' related to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is reported to have secured evidence of drinking party entertainment provided to Jeong Jin-sang, Chief Political Coordination Officer of the Representative Office, and Kim Yong, Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, who are close aides of Lee, from the so-called 'Daejang-dong team.'

According to the legal community on the 24th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) is said to have recovered text message exchanges with an employee of a nightlife establishment in Gangnam, Seoul, frequently visited by lawyer Nam.

These messages reportedly contain details that since around 2013, Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, entertained Jeong and Kim with drinks at the nightlife establishment, with lawyer Nam settling the expenses afterward. The prosecution also recently summoned the employee as a witness for investigation.

The content that former Director Yoo and others provided drinking entertainment to former Chief Jeong also appeared in the indictment of Yoo and others recently charged in connection with the Wirye New Town development project. According to this, around August 2013, lawyer Nam introduced a nightlife establishment to former Director Yoo during the Wirye New Town development process to solidify mutual collusion, saying, "If you comfortably drink with the female employees, I will pay the bill."

Former Director Yoo also claimed in a media interview on the 21st, "Jeong Jin-sang and I drank 100 times, 1000 times," adding, "(Jeong) drank about 100 times at the nightlife establishment but never paid the bill even once. Just that amount would be significant."

The prosecution is expected to thoroughly investigate Deputy Director Kim within the detention period first, then summon Chief Jeong. Chief Jeong has been banned from leaving the country due to the 'Seongnam FC sponsorship fund allegations' case being investigated by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch. The prosecution summoned Deputy Director Kim for questioning at the detention center again on the same day following the previous day.

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