Former Korea Development Bank President Min Yuseong Denies 'Shin Dongju Illegal Advisory' Charges in Court

Min Yu-seong, former president of the Korea Development Bank (69), denied all charges at the first trial after being indicted on suspicion of illegally providing legal advice related to the management rights dispute within the Lotte Group.

Min Yuseong, Former President of the Korea Development Bank [Image Source=Yonhap News]

At the first hearing of the violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act held on the 16th under the presiding judge Jeong Jae-yong of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21, Min’s defense team stated, "We deny all the facts of the indictment."

The defense attorney said, "The defendant is a recognized financial expert, and he provided consultation when the issue of affiliate separation arose in the fraternal dispute within the Lotte Group," adding, "Other complaints, accusations, and injunctions were handled separately by Shin Dong-joo, chairman of SDJ Corporation, who appointed his own lawyers."

He further added, "In large-scale affiliate separations or mergers and acquisitions (M&A) projects, not only lawyers but also tax and financial experts form a team. If the prosecution’s claim is accepted, then everyone involved except the lawyers would be violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. This is unacceptable."

The court scheduled the second hearing for the 13th of next month.

Min is accused of performing various legal tasks without a lawyer’s license from October 2015 to August 2017 to help Shin Dong-joo, chairman of SDJ Corporation (former vice chairman of Lotte Holdings Japan), secure management rights during the Lotte Group’s "brothers’ war," and receiving approximately 19.8 billion KRW in return, violating the Attorney-at-Law Act.

He served as president of the Korea Development Bank from 2009 to 2011 and later became chairman of the management consulting firm Namukopeu. The prosecution believes that Min was involved in planning criminal and administrative cases related to the Lotte Group, selecting lawyers, overseeing various lawsuits, collecting evidence, submitting opinions, planning statements by agents and witnesses, and shaping public opinion.

It is particularly known that he provided legal support aimed at the court imprisonment or guilty verdict of Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte Group and younger brother of Shin Dong-joo, as well as the failure to reacquire the duty-free license for Lotte Shopping.

This was confirmed when Min filed a civil lawsuit against Shin Dong-joo demanding 10.7 billion KRW in consulting fees. The first trial ruled that SDJ must pay Namukopeu 7.5 billion KRW in consulting fees, but the appellate court and Supreme Court ruled the contract invalid due to violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act, resulting in a loss.

In May of last year, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for former bank president Min, but the court dismissed it, stating, "There is insufficient evidence to justify the reasons, necessity, and appropriateness of detention." After about a month of supplementary investigation, the prosecution indicted Min without detention. However, other charges such as violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery) were dismissed due to lack of evidence.

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