Prosecution Accelerates Investigation into Jeong Jin-sang over 'Illegal Presidential Election Funds and Seongnam FC Sponsorship Allegations'

Yoo Dong-gyu and Nam Wook's Statements Match... Prosecution to Summon Jeong Jin-sang Soon for Investigation
Jeong Jin-sang: "Presidential Election Funds Are Pure Fiction Not Worth Considering"

On the 20th, at the emergency Democratic Party of Korea members' meeting held at the National Assembly, Representative Lee Jae-myung, Floor Leader Park Hong-geun, and other members protested against the prosecution's attempt to search the Democratic Party headquarters by holding picket signs. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The prosecution, investigating allegations of illegal presidential election fund acceptance and sponsorship funds for Seongnam FC, is accelerating its investigation into Jeong Jin-sang, the Political Coordination Office Chief of the Democratic Party leader’s office. Jeong is a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, who has referred to Jeong and Kim Yong as “close associates.”

The investigation into Jeong is proceeding on two fronts, with the prosecution believing that Jeong is involved in both the illegal presidential election fund acceptance and the Seongnam FC sponsorship fund allegations. This conclusion is based on consistent testimonies from Nam Wook, a lawyer known as a developer of the so-called Daejang-dong project, and Yoo Dong-gyu, former head of strategic planning at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation.

On the 26th, there is a strong expectation within and outside the prosecution that Jeong will soon be summoned for questioning to clarify the final destination of the illegal presidential election funds.

Yoo, who exposed that money from the Daejang-dong developers flowed to Jeong and Kim Yong, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, reportedly testified during a recent prosecution investigation that ahead of the 2014 local elections, he handed over 50 million won and 100 million won respectively to Jeong and Kim from the 360 million won he received from the Daejang-dong developers.

The prosecution is paying close attention to the fact that at the time, Jeong was campaigning for Lee Jae-myung’s re-election as mayor of Seongnam, while Kim was preparing for re-election as a Seongnam city council member.

Jeong is also facing charges of accepting bribes from a third party related to the 5 billion won sponsorship for Seongnam FC. The Criminal Division 3 of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office Seongnam Branch (Chief Prosecutor Yoo Min-jong), which is handling this case, recently imposed a travel ban on Jeong.

The Seongnam FC sponsorship fund allegations center on claims that while Lee was serving as mayor of Seongnam, he facilitated permits and approvals for companies based in Seongnam and received sponsorship funds under the name of advertising fees for Seongnam FC. The prosecution believes that although Seongnam FC is a “corporate stock company” that cannot legally receive sponsorship funds, it accepted such funds and provided benefits to Seongnam FC, a third party, in exchange for handling illicit requests from companies.

Additionally, Jeong is implicated in allegations that in September 2013, he, along with Kim, Yoo, and Nam, received entertainment and alcohol at a nightclub. Jeong is also under investigation for “obstruction of evidence.” Yoo claimed that during a prosecution raid last September related to the Daejang-dong development corruption case, Jeong told him to “dispose of his mobile phone.”

On the other hand, Jeong denies all allegations against him. He stated, “The prosecution’s claim that Yoo Dong-gyu handed money to me is a baseless fabrication without any merit. I have already responded to multiple summonses from the prosecution and police and have been investigated several times. On September 16, my phone and other items were confiscated during a search, and I was also subjected to a travel ban. If the prosecution summons me for further investigation, I will confidently and sincerely cooperate at any time.”

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