Kim Man-bae "I'm 50 years old"... Denies 'Daejang-dong Brotherhood' Pact

"Visit by Kwon Soon-il Was for Book Review Purposes
No Interest in Lee Jae-myung Trial"

Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, denied the existence of the 'brotherhood pledge,' which is considered a symbolic circumstance of the public-private collusion in the Daejang-dong development corruption case.

On the 20th, during the witness examination in the trial of Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, on charges including violation of the Political Funds Act, held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu), Kim said, "I first heard about such (brotherhood) talk during the investigation process."

According to the prosecution's investigation results, Kim, former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation director Yoo Dong-gyu, former Chief Political Coordination Officer Jeong Jin-sang, a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, and Kim Yong formed a brotherhood pledge in late June 2014. This was right after Lee was re-elected as mayor of Seongnam. The prosecution revealed that this was the basis for collusion between Kim and Lee's side to secure the selection as the Daejang-dong project operator.

Mr. Kim Man-bae. [Photo by Asia Economy DB]

However, Kim said on this day, "Jeong Jin-sang is a very stern person, so I don't think he ever called me 'brother,'" adding, "I'm nearly 50 years old; is it easy to form a brotherhood pledge at this age? I'm not that kind of person."

He also denied allegations of 'trial lobbying' related to his frequent visits to Justice Kwon Soon-il's office from March to June 2020, when Lee's appeal trial for violation of the Public Official Election Act was underway. Former Justice Kwon is one of the '50 Billion Club' members targeted by Kim's lobbying.

Kim said, "The investigative agencies didn't mention it, but since former Justice Kwon was writing a book, I visited often for consultation," adding, "I also asked him to introduce me to the president of the Korean Bar Association because I wanted to acquire the Legal News." Former Justice Kwon published a book titled 'Republic and Rule of Law' in September of that year.

Kim claimed that the person he referred to in a March 2020 recording, saying, "Use your power so that the sentence is not severe enough to invalidate the election," was not Lee, who was then governor of Gyeonggi Province, but former Seongnam Mayor Eun Soo-mi.

When asked if the prosecution exerted influence on Lee's trial, he said, "I have never filed complaints about trials during my time as a journalist," and "I was not interested in Lee's trial."

The prosecution pointed out that although former Mayor Eun's auxiliary expenses were only 150 million won, the recording mentioned, "If the election is invalidated, the election reimbursement cost would be about 2 billion won," but Kim responded, "That must be a misunderstanding."

Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, appeared as a witness at the trial for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, held on the 31st of last month at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

During the trial, the common-law spouse A of Yoo was also examined as a witness, but refused to testify on most questions.

Yoo appeared before the prosecution in October last year and testified about a conversation with A to specify the time when he received money from lawyer Jeong Min-yong, intended for Kim Yong, and brought it into his home.

In May to June 2020, when Yoo came home carrying a backpack that A had never seen before, A asked what was inside, and Yoo took out a box from the bag and showed some cash.

When asked by the prosecutor about the identity of the backpack during the witness examination, A said, "Yoo said it was 'Jeong Min-yong's,'" but refused to testify further.

Instead, A said, "Seeing people dying related to this case has caused trauma, and I am worried that Yoo might be harmed," adding, "I have developed an illness, and every day feels like hell with someone following me; testifying itself is frightening and scary."

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