Yoo Dong-gyu: "'50 Billion Club' 6 Members Are People Who Helped Lee Jae-myung's Lawsuit"

Testimony in Jeong Jinsang's Bribery Trial... Jeong's Side Calls It "Malicious Leading Questions"

Testimony has emerged that the so-called '50 Billion Club' of six people, who Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, allegedly promised to pay a large sum of money, were individuals who assisted Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, in various lawsuits.

On the 12th, Yoo Dong-gyu, former head of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, testified to this effect during the trial of Jeong Jin-sang, former chief of the Political Coordination Office in the representative office, on charges including bribery, held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 33 (Presiding Judge Kim Dong-hyun). When the prosecution asked, "Is it true that Jeong and others initially agreed to receive 100 billion won, representing a 24.5% stake in the Daejang-dong project, from Kim, but then agreed to receive 70 billion won after deducting 30 billion won?" Yoo replied, "Yes, that was the amount after deducting the money to be given to the six members of the 50 Billion Club."

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

The prosecution continued, "Did Kim say that the money should be given to the 50 Billion Club because they helped with Lee Jae-myung's lawsuits?" Yoo answered, "Yes. I also told Jeong about the part where 30 billion won was deducted for their shares, and we agreed to receive only 70 billion won." In response, Jeong's defense attorney protested, saying, "This is the first time in this trial that it has been claimed that the deducted 30 billion won was money to be given to people who helped Lee Jae-myung's lawsuits," and added, "The prosecution is conducting malicious leading questions without any basis, trying to align the witness's statements."

The court directly asked Yoo, "Is the reason for giving the 30 billion won because they helped with Lee Jae-myung's lawsuits or because they helped with the Daejang-dong project?" Yoo replied, "Among the six, there are people who helped not only with Lee Jae-myung's lawsuits but also with connections and media-related assistance." He added, "After the Supreme Court ruling in July 2020, which overturned and remanded the case related to Lee's violation of the Public Official Election Act with a not-guilty verdict, the deduction amount was finalized at 30 billion won."

Regarding this not-guilty verdict, suspicions arose that Kim's role was linked to the Daejang-dong case and that then-Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il led the decision. The '50 Billion Club' members refer to former Supreme Court Justice Kwon, former Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam, former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Choi Jae-kyung, former Special Prosecutor Park Young-soo, former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, and Hong Seon-geun, chairman of the Money Today Media Group, all of whom are legal professionals or influential figures.

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