Court Arrests Two Associates Including 'Helmet Man' Choi Woo-hyang for Assisting Kim Man-bae's 26 Billion Won Concealment

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Two close aides who cooperated in concealing the assets of Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), have been detained.

On the 16th, according to the court, Seoul Central District Court Judge Kim Jeong-min, in charge of warrants, conducted a pre-arrest detention hearing for Choi Woo-hyang, director of Hwacheon Daeyu and former vice chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, and Lee Han-seong, co-CEO of Hwacheon Daeyu, and issued arrest warrants late the previous night, citing "risk of evidence destruction and flight."

They are accused of hiding approximately 26 billion KRW by withdrawing profits from the Daejang-dong project in checks for secret storage or purchasing real estate under borrowed names through false accounting, all under Kim’s instructions.

Earlier, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, investigating the 'Daejang-dong development corruption allegations,' requested the court to issue their arrest warrants. Lee was a former aide to Lee Hwa-young, ex-Vice Governor for Peace of Gyeonggi Province and a close associate of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, during her time as a member of the National Assembly. After joining Hwacheon Daeyu at Kim’s request, who is an alumnus of Sungkyunkwan University, Lee managed Kim’s bank accounts and seals and handled fund withdrawals under his direction.

Choi was formerly involved with a violent organization in the Mokpo area and served as vice chairman of Ssangbangwool Group. He has known Kim for 20 years and appeared wearing a motorcycle helmet in front of Seoul Detention Center on October 15 last year after Kim’s first arrest warrant was dismissed, even helping carry luggage. He is said to have managed Hwacheon Daeyu’s finances.

Having secured custody of these individuals, the prosecution plans to accelerate investigations into financial transactions and asset concealment between Kim and them. Pressure on Kim is also expected to intensify.

Meanwhile, Kim, who attempted an extreme act the previous day, is currently receiving treatment and is in a stable condition. The Criminal Division 22 of Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Lee Jun-cheol) decided to skip the trials scheduled for that day and the 19th regarding the Daejang-dong development preferential treatment allegations and instead hold the trial on the 23rd. This appears to be due to Kim’s difficulty attending court while undergoing treatment.

Private businessman Nam Wook, a lawyer, and former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu, who are grouped with Kim as the 'Daejang-dong gang,' claim monetary provision to Lee’s faction and profit sharing from Daejang-dong, but Kim is distancing himself from them.

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