Prosecutors: "Kim Man-bae coached Gwak Sang-do's son for testimony, attempted to persuade Yoo Dong-gyu"

The prosecution opposed bail for Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), claiming that he had coached Gwak Byeong-chae, the son of former People Power Party lawmaker Gwak Sang-do, in his testimony.

Kim Man-bae, major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

On the 5th, during the bail hearing for Kim held by Judge Kim Sang-il of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 1, the prosecution emphasized, "The defendant destroyed evidence in various ways."

They added, "The defendant had Lee Seong-moon, CEO of Hwacheon Daeyu, coach Gwak, who appeared as a witness on July 20 last year, in his testimony," and "around August 10 and 17 last year, when CEO Lee testified, he paid a severance of 2.5 billion won after deducting pre-interest to prevent him from becoming a 'second Jeong Young-hak' and exposing the truth."

The prosecution also claimed that after Kim was released in November last year due to the expiration of his detention period, he attempted to persuade Yoo Dong-gyu, former head of planning at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and a key figure in the case, to cooperate. They also emphasized that Kim was indicted on charges of instructing an interior contractor to smash and burn his mobile phone with a hammer in September 2021 (obstruction of evidence).

Kim's defense attorney countered, "The defendant denies all charges of concealing criminal proceeds, and concerns about evidence destruction and flight risk should be considered only in relation to the charges of concealing criminal proceeds and evidence destruction in this case, not the Daejang-dong breach of trust case." The attorney added, "If you look at the reasons the prosecutor wrote in the arrest warrant application regarding concerns about evidence destruction, nine out of ten paragraphs relate to breach of trust. Since all objective evidence related to the concealment of criminal proceeds has already been presented, there is no necessity for detention."

Kim was prosecuted on charges of instructing evidence concealment and obstruction for allegedly reissuing and exchanging 39 billion won in criminal proceeds earned from the Daejang-dong development between October 2021 and November last year, hiding them in nominee officetels using checks or small denominations. Initially, he was detained and prosecuted on breach of trust charges related to Daejang-dong but was released in November last year after the detention period expired. However, he was re-arrested on this case.

The court plans to consolidate the cases of Hwacheon Daeyu co-CEOs Lee Han-seong and Choi Woo-hyang with Kim's case for trial. Given the opportunity to speak directly that day, Kim said, "The actions taken by defendants Lee Han-seong and Choi Woo-hyang for the management and operation of the company were under my direct and indirect responsibility and position. It is appropriate to hold me accountable."

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