Namwook: "Kim Man-bae Asked the Investigation Unit for 'Leniency for the Broker'"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] Nam Wook testified that Kim Man-bae, the private developer of the Daejang-dong development project, said he personally requested leniency for the Daejang-dong loan broker to the Busan Savings Bank investigation team of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Central Investigation Department in 2011.

Nam appeared as a witness at the Daejang-dong related breach of trust trial held on the 21st at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Lee Jun-cheol) and claimed that he heard such words from Kim.

The prosecution asked Nam about the situation when Jo Woo-hyung, a loan broker who illegally arranged loans for the private developer in the early stages of the Daejang-dong development project in 2009, was under investigation.

At that time, Daejang Financial Project Financing Investment (Daejang PFV), represented by Lee Kang-gil, illegally arranged a project financing (PF) loan of 115.5 billion KRW from Busan Savings Bank and received 1.03 billion KRW from Lee as a fee. Lee Kang-gil, an early developer of Daejang-dong, was the person who brought Nam and Jung Young-hak into the project in 2009, and in 2011, transferred the management rights of companies related to the Daejang-dong development to Nam and Jung.

Nam explained, "Regarding the appointment of Jo Woo-hyung's defense attorney during the investigation, I was introduced to Kim Man-bae by reporter Bae, and Kim appointed Jo's defense attorney and provided legal assistance." He added, "Kim introduced former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, who was a lawyer at the time, to Jo." He also explained that Kim received 15 million KRW from Jo as a fee for introducing former special prosecutor Park to Jo.

When the prosecution asked what kind of help Kim gave to Jo, Nam replied, "When the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office investigated the savings bank case, Kim told me that he personally requested leniency for Jo from the investigation team to the 'side he knew'." This testimony came out during the process of the prosecution asking how Kim got involved in the project and Nam answering.

Kim was suspected of exerting influence on the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to help Jo avoid punishment. In March this year, Newstapa released a conversation Kim had last September with his acquaintance Shin Hak-rim, former chairman of the Media Union. According to this report, Kim claimed that since he could not directly ask Yoon Seok-youl, then head of the Central Investigation Division 2 and now president, about the case, he introduced former special prosecutor Park to Jo as a 'person who could be effective.'

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