'Baekhyun-dong Lobbyist' Kim In-seop Trial Begins... Expecting Dispute Over Lee's Alleged Breach of Trust

The trial of Kim In-seop, former CEO of Korea Housing Technology, who was identified as the 'lobbyist for official approval' in the Baekhyeon-dong development project in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, officially began on the 13th. Kim is suspected of being responsible for lobbying related to the development project on behalf of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (then mayor of Seongnam).

Kim In-seop, former CEO of Korea Housing Technology, who was identified as a 'liaison lobbyist' related to the Baekhyun-dong development project, is attending a pre-arrest suspect hearing (warrant review) held on the morning of April 14 at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

At 10:10 a.m. that day, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon) held the first hearing for Kim, who was indicted and detained on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. In accordance with the defendant's mandatory attendance at the formal trial, Kim, who was in custody, appeared in court wearing a yellow-brown prison uniform. He stated that he did not wish for a jury trial.

The prosecution presented prepared PowerPoint materials to explain the charges against Kim. He was indicted on charges of receiving 7.7 billion KRW from Jeong Ba-ul, chairman of Asia Developer, a private developer, as a bribe for facilitating permits related to the Baekhyeon-dong development project from September 2015 to March of this year. He is also accused of receiving the business rights to a restaurant (hambak restaurant) at the Baekhyeon-dong project site worth approximately 500 million KRW in October 2017.

Kim’s defense team completely denied the charges. The lawyer argued, “The defendant proceeded with the Baekhyeon-dong project as a partner with Chairman Jeong, and this was done through lawful procedures, not through lobbying involving public officials,” adding, “The money received by the defendant was a settlement payment for the partnership.”

The special favor allegations regarding the Baekhyeon-dong development project involve changes to the development permit conditions for building apartments on the former Korea Food Research Institute site in Baekhyeon-dong, which were made favorable to private developers such as Chairman Jeong. According to the Mountainous Area Management Act, when cutting into mountainous terrain to build structures, the vertical height of retaining walls must not exceed 15 meters. However, at that time, Seongnam City approved a change of use, allowing apartments with retaining walls approximately 50 meters high to be built in Baekhyeon-dong. Through this, Asia Developer earned sales revenue in the 300 billion KRW range.

The upcoming trial and related investigations of Kim are considered key clues to clarifying the connection between Lee and the special favor allegations in the Baekhyeon-dong development. Kim was a close aide who served as Lee’s campaign headquarters chief during the 2006 Seongnam mayoral election, and it was investigated that from April 2014 to March 2015, when the Baekhyeon-dong development project was underway, he had 115 phone calls with Jeong Jin-sang, former chief political coordinator of the Democratic Party leader’s office and Lee’s closest aide.

The prosecution stated in the indictment that Kim was known as an unofficial power broker in Seongnam City and communicated almost daily with former chief Jeong via calls or text messages. The prosecution’s view is that Kim, who had a long-standing close relationship with Lee and former chief Jeong, approached Chairman Jeong to conduct lobbying activities and received compensation. If Lee was involved in the change of use for the Baekhyeon-dong site, he could face charges of breach of trust causing damage to Seongnam Urban Development Corporation. Depending on the progress of Kim’s trial, Lee’s breach of trust allegations related to the Baekhyeon-dong development could become more concrete.

On the other hand, Kim has consistently denied the allegations, stating that he could not have lobbied because he was detained from April 2015 to April 2016 due to the ‘Seongnam Stormwater Retention Basin Construction Corruption Case’ when the change of use and district unit plan were being established.

The prosecution believes that Kim lobbied for official approval on behalf of Lee’s side through visits and letters with aides while in prison, and that this could be linked to Lee’s breach of trust and conflict of interest, similar to the Wirye and Daejang-dong cases. It is reported that letters from Kim obtained by the prosecution while he was in prison contained evidence that he personally managed the progress of the Baekhyeon-dong project and communicated with Lee’s side.

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