Prosecutors Conduct Unusual 14-Hour Interrogation of Jeong Jin-sang... Analysis of 'Gangdaegang Confrontation'

Jeong Jin-sang, the Political Coordination Office Chief of the Democratic Party's Representative Office, who is accused of accepting bribes from the Daejang-dong group, appeared privately before the prosecution on the 15th. The prosecution flag was hung in front of the Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, that morning.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] 13 hours and 40 minutes.

This is the amount of time Jeong Jin-sang, a key aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and the Political Coordination Officer of the Party Leader’s Office, spent being investigated at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 15th. Approximately 14 hours. He arrived at the interrogation room around 9:30 a.m. and was questioned until 11:07 p.m. before going home.

The day after the investigation, on the 16th, voices from inside and outside the prosecution noted that the unusually long interrogation time was "exceptional," drawing attention. A prosecution official said, "Even considering the time to review the statement, it is quite unusual these days to conduct a 14-hour investigation, as investigation times are being shortened to consider the rights of the accused." Since the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act this year, if the defendant refuses, interrogation records cannot be used as evidence in court. Accordingly, the prosecution is known to ask fewer questions when summoning suspects for investigation these days. Even considering this, 14 hours leaves the impression that the investigation was quite lengthy.

In legal circles, it is believed that the prosecution and Officer Jeong engaged in a 'strong against strong' confrontation in the interrogation room. It is especially analyzed that Officer Jeong was more proactive than the prosecution. Prosecution interrogations after 9 p.m. are classified as 'late-night investigations,' requiring the suspect's consent beforehand. Without Officer Jeong’s consent, the investigation could not have continued until 11:07 p.m., suggesting that he actively expressed his position during the investigation. In fact, Officer Jeong reportedly denied each charge against him point by point. He also strongly denied any connection to Lee Jae-myung. Officer Jeong’s legal counsel stated during the prosecution investigation that "we answered everything specifically" and described the prosecution’s investigation content as "absurd."

Officer Jeong is accused of receiving a total of 140 million won in money and goods under various pretexts of solicitation from Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and others known as the 'Daejang-dong group' while serving as Seongnam City Policy Secretary and Gyeonggi Province Policy Director from 2013 to 2020. He is also charged with promising to share dividends (after tax 42.8 billion won) corresponding to 24.5% of common stock with Kim Man-bae in exchange for providing preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong project (bribery after abuse of power), and violating the Anti-Corruption Act by leaking confidential internal information to private contractors in the Wirye New Town development project, enabling them to gain huge profits. He is also accused of instructing former Director Yoo to throw his mobile phone out the window when a prosecution raid was imminent on September 29 last year (obstruction of evidence).

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) is expected to take steps from this day to request an arrest warrant for Officer Jeong. After indicting Kim Yong, Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, and securing Officer Jeong’s custody, the investigation is expected to turn toward Lee Jae-myung. Kim and Officer Jeong are known as Lee’s closest aides. The prosecution’s judgment is that the person who actually benefited from their crimes and the final decision-maker of various projects was Lee. The prosecution even described Officer Jeong and Lee as a "political community" in the search and seizure warrant.

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