Prosecutors Conduct Search and Seizure on Proxy Service Company for Baekhyeon-dong Development Permits

The prosecution investigating the Baekhyeon-dong development corruption case has conducted a search and seizure of a design service company that acted as an agent for the permit procedures against Seongnam City and others, securing related materials.

Prosecutor's Office [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) carried out a search and seizure on the 21st at Company A located in Mapo-gu, Seoul, in connection with the Baekhyeon-dong development corruption allegations. It is reported that this company also attended the Urban Planning Committee meetings.

The prosecution also searched the stenography office that prepared the transcript of a recorded conversation between former Korea Housing Technology CEO Kim In-seop and Asia Developer CEO Jeong Mo the day before.

The Baekhyeon-dong development is a project that built and sold apartments on the former Korea Food Research Institute site in Baekhyeon-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam City. In 2014, Asia Developer, which undertook this project, requested Seongnam City twice to upgrade the land use from natural green space to Type 2 general residential area in two stages, but both requests were rejected on the grounds that they did not conform to the city's basic urban plan.

In January of the following year, former Korea Housing Technology CEO Kim In-seop was recruited by Asia Developer, and Seongnam City changed its previous stance, upgrading the land use from natural green space to quasi-residential area in four stages at once.

Lee Jae-myung, then mayor of Seongnam City and current leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, claims that the land use change was made under pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

During the negotiation process between Asia Developer and Seongnam City regarding the conditions for the land use change, it was proposed to involve Seongnam Urban Development Corporation in the development to secure public interest, but this was actually canceled during the project implementation. As a result, approximately 300 billion won in profits went entirely to private developers.

The prosecution suspects that the corporation was excluded from the project due to lobbying by former CEO Kim. It is believed that Company A acted under the instructions of Asia Developer CEO Jeong Mo and former CEO Kim.

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