Nam Wook, Suspected of 'Wirye Development Favoritism', Denies Charges in First Trial

Lawyer Nam Wook is attending the trial related to allegations of corruption in the development of Wirye New Town at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 7th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Lawyer Nam Wook and accountant Jeong Younghak, members of the 'Daejangdong group' who were additionally indicted on charges related to preferential treatment in the Wirye New Town development project, denied the charges at their first trial.

On the 7th, Judge Kim Sangil of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 1 held the first hearing on the case of former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Donggyu, lawyer Nam, and accountant Jeong for violating the Anti-Corruption Act. Jeong Jaechang, a major shareholder of Wirye Asset Management who participated in the project, and Joo, the representative of the special purpose corporation (SPC) Pureun Wirye Project, also appeared as defendants.

On this day, lawyer Nam's side acknowledged the factual relationship of the indictment but denied the charges. They pointed out, "Since the shares held were transferred to Mr. Jeong in 2013, no dividend gains were obtained," and questioned whether this case falls within the scope of the prosecution's direct investigation.

Accountant Jeong's side also denied the charges, stating, "The former Anti-Corruption Act only includes punishment provisions for public officials, and there are no provisions for punishing the counterpart who received and used secrets from public officials," and questioned whether private business operators can be punished as accomplices under the Anti-Corruption Act.

Former Director Yoo withheld his position on the charges, saying, "I will speak after hiring a lawyer."

Previously, they were brought to trial on charges of sharing internal secrets of the corporation regarding the development project of Wirye New Town A2-8 block in July 2013, which led to Wirye Asset Management being selected as a private business operator.

It was investigated that they selected Hoban Construction as the contractor and, when a total implementation profit of about 41.8 billion KRW was generated by March 2017, they secured dividend gains of approximately 16.9 billion KRW for Hoban Construction and about 4.23 billion KRW for Wirye Asset Management according to the ratio set in the shareholder agreement.

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