Kim Man-bae Released After One Year "Sorry Regardless of Legal Judgment... Will Participate Sincerely in Trial"

Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, was released on the morning of the 24th as his detention period expired and is leaving Seoul Detention Center.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), was released from prison on the 24th. It has been one year since his detention.

Kim was released from Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi Province, at around 12:04 a.m. that day. Wearing a black coat, Kim appeared before the press and bowed his head, saying, "I apologize for causing a disturbance in many ways. Regardless of legal judgment, I sincerely apologize and will faithfully attend the upcoming trial," before leaving the detention center.

With Kim's release, the 'Daejang-dong Trio'?former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu, Nam Wook, and Kim?will all face trial outside of detention in an unrestrained state.

In a statement sent to reporters the previous afternoon, Kim stated, "I will not give interviews to any media," and added, "I will not speak separately anywhere."

Expressing concern over the overheated competition among reporters regarding him, he added, "Since my residence includes not only my family but also residents, I ask that you refrain from reporting so as not to cause any harm."

Earlier, Yoo and Nam, who were released first, testified that there was a hidden stake of the 'Lee Jae-myung side' in Cheonhwa-dongin No. 1, and that they promised 70 billion KRW (42.8 billion KRW excluding common expenses and taxes) of dividend profits, causing a major stir. However, since both said they heard this from Kim, attention is focused on whether Kim will confirm this.

Kim is accused of conspiring with former Director Yoo and others to cause large profits to Hwacheon Daeyu, thereby causing damage to the corporation. The prosecution believes that in this process, Hwacheon Daeyu and Cheonhwa-dongin Nos. 1 to 7 enjoyed at least 65.1 billion KRW in land development dividend profits and at least 117.6 billion KRW in implementation profits.

He is also accused of handing 1.65 million KRW in cash to a correctional officer when he was released from Seoul Detention Center after the first arrest warrant was dismissed in October last year. Separately, he is also on trial for allegedly giving about 2.5 billion KRW to former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do last April under the name of his son's performance bonus.

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