‘Daejang-dong Cheonhwa-dongin No.6 Real Owner Suspicion’ Jo Woo-hyung Faces Imprisonment Crossroads

The prosecution investigating the Daejang-dong development allegations is set to decide on the detention of Jo Woo-hyung, suspected to be the actual owner of Cheonhwa-dongin No. 6, an affiliate of the private business Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), on the 4th.

Jo Woo-hyung, suspected to be the actual owner of Cheonhwa-dongin No. 6, an affiliate of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, the private developer of Daejang-dong, is attending the pre-arrest detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu on the morning of the 4th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At 10:30 a.m. that day, Lee Min-soo, the presiding judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) for Jo, who is accused of violating the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and violation of the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment. The decision on detention is expected to be made either that night or early the next morning.

On the 1st, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin) filed a detention warrant. According to the prosecution, Jo is accused of using official secrets, such as information on the opening of the Seopangyo Tunnel during the Daejang-dong development project in March-April 2015, to secure initial project funds, and together with private contractors, illegally pocketing a total of 788.6 billion KRW in development profits until January this year, causing 489.5 billion KRW in damages to the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation.

This matches the criminal facts stated in the indictments against private developers Kim Man-bae and Nam Wook involved in the Daejang-dong project.

Additionally, Jo is accused of hiding criminal proceeds by receiving 28.3 billion KRW in dividend profits into the Cheonhwa-dongin No. 6 account from March 2019 to March 2021, while nominally registering lawyer Cho Hyun-sung as the official owner but actually owning Cheonhwa-dongin No. 6.

Based on testimonies from private business operators, the prosecution concluded that Jo is the actual owner of Cheonhwa-dongin No. 6; however, Jo is reported to deny the related allegations.

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