Suspicion of Bribery to Suppress Investigation in Baekhyeon-dong: Former High Prosecutor Im Jeong-hyeok Detained for Custody Hearing

Former Commissioner Gwak Jeong-gi to Undergo Review from 1:30 PM

The decision on whether to detain former Senior Prosecutor General Lim Jeong-hyeok (67, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 16), who is accused of receiving a large sum of money under the pretext of requesting to suppress the investigation into the Baekhyeon-dong development corruption case, will be made on the 22nd.

Former Chief Prosecutor Jeong-Hyeok Lim./Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Seoul Central District Court's Chief Judge Lee Min-su, in charge of warrants, conducted the warrant hearing for former Senior Prosecutor General Lim from 11:30 a.m. on the same day.

Former Senior Prosecutor General Lim is accused of receiving 100 million won into his personal account in June this year from Jeong Ba-ul, chairman of Asia Developer, a private businessman, under the pretext of official relations and requests related to the prosecution investigation of the Baekhyeon-dong case (violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act).

It is known that former Senior Prosecutor General Lim told real estate broker Lee (68, detained and indicted), who introduced Chairman Jeong to him, "To cover up a big case, you need to be at least the Minister of Justice."

Arriving at the court around 10:14 a.m., much earlier than the expected appearance time, former Senior Prosecutor General Lim headed to the courtroom without responding to any questions from waiting reporters.

After the warrant hearing ended, former Senior Prosecutor General Lim appeared around 1 p.m. and left the court without answering reporters' questions such as, "Is it true that you said 'You need to be at least the Minister of Justice'?" and "Do you admit to the charges?"

Meanwhile, the warrant hearing for former Senior Superintendent Gwak Jeong-gi (50, class 33), who was also charged with the same allegations, will be held in the afternoon. The hearing, originally scheduled for 10:30 a.m., was postponed to 1:30 p.m.

Former Senior Superintendent Gwak is accused of receiving 700 million won in legal fees from Chairman Jeong between June and July last year related to a police investigation, and separately receiving 50 million won in cash under the pretext of official relations and requests, saying, "I need to make personnel arrangements at the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency."

He was also investigated for giving 4 million won as a referral fee to police officer Park, who introduced this case to him.

During the investigation of Chairman Jeong, the prosecution uncovered evidence that he provided approximately 1.33 billion won to Lee as a bribe to suppress the investigation, and has been conducting investigations into former Senior Prosecutor General Lim and former Senior Superintendent Gwak.

The prosecution began a forced investigation by searching the residences of the two on the 27th of last month and requested arrest warrants for them on the 19th.

The decision on whether to detain former Senior Prosecutor General Lim and former Senior Superintendent Gwak is expected to be made late in the afternoon or early morning on the 23rd.

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