Jung Jin-sang Requested Confrontation Interrogation with Yoo Dong-gyu to Prosecution but Was Rejected

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 photo shows the entrance of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong on the morning of that day.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Jeong Jin-sang, the chief political coordinator of the party leader's office and a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was summoned by the prosecution on the 15th and reportedly requested a confrontation interrogation with former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu. The prosecution did not accept this request, so the confrontation interrogation did not take place.

According to the legal community on the 16th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) summoned Jeong as a suspect on charges including receiving bribes worth hundreds of millions of won and conducted an intensive investigation for about 14 hours the previous day.

Jeong's defense attorney actively denied the charges and any connection with Lee during the investigation, stating that they were "not true." They also reportedly requested the prosecution to conduct a confrontation interrogation in the same interrogation room with former Director Yoo. It appears this proposal was made to clarify the truth of suspicions arising from Yoo's active revelations about the Daejang-dong case during his investigations.

Former Director Yoo had been pointed out as the endpoint of private business operators' solicitations and project profits involved in the Daejang-dong urban development project, including Nam Wook and Kim Man-bae. However, he recently claimed that his role was limited to reporting to Jeong, which led to an expansion of the investigation. It is known that Jeong's side judged the confrontation interrogation request as a proposal that the prosecution could accept. Jeong's defense attorney said, "Since Yoo Dong-gyu's testimony is the only evidence, confrontation is essential to verify its credibility," and added, "It is a legitimate request, so we expect the prosecution to accept it."

It was reported that former Director Yoo also appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for investigation during the same time Jeong was being questioned the previous day. However, the confrontation interrogation did not materialize. The prosecution team judged that there was no need for a confrontation investigation in light of Jeong's complete denial of the charges and his responses. Generally, confrontation investigations are procedures conducted when there are conflicting statements after specific testimonies have been given, to compare and contrast and determine the truth.

The day after summoning Jeong for investigation, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant. The pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review) will be held on the afternoon of the 18th at the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Kim Se-yong, who is in charge of warrants.

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