Ministry of Justice: "Yoo Dong-gyu Did Not Attempt Extreme Action in Detention Center"
by Kim Daehyun
Published 21 Apr.2022 17:37(KST)
Updated 21 Apr.2022 17:58(KST)
Claims of Large Amounts of Sleeping Pills and Extreme Choices
Ministry of Justice: "Not True"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Ministry of Justice has denied claims that Yoo Dong-gyu, former head of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation who was indicted and detained on suspicion of preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong development project, attempted suicide by ingesting a large quantity of sleeping pills while in detention.
On the afternoon of the 21st, the Ministry of Justice stated, "Considering the detainee's external hospital treatment records and other circumstances, the claim that he attempted suicide by taking a large amount of sleeping pills is not true," dismissing the defense attorney's assertion.
Earlier, the defense attorney claimed, "Yoo Dong-gyu took 50 sleeping pills he had in his possession in the early hours of the previous day," and added, "He was transported to the emergency room and returned in the afternoon without any special treatment." The attorney also said that the cause was the issuance of an additional arrest warrant on charges of evidence tampering the day before. Yoo was transferred to the hospital, and since no abnormal findings were detected during the examination, he reportedly returned to the detention center.
On the 19th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Lee Joon-cheol) issued an additional arrest warrant for Yoo on charges of evidence tampering. The court cited "concerns over evidence destruction" as the main reason.
Yoo was prosecuted on charges of causing damage to the corporation by designing the project in a way favorable to Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu) after agreeing to receive a portion of the development profits from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu. The prosecution believes that Yoo intended to benefit Hwacheon Daeyu by failing to establish a plan to recover excess profits from private developers during the Daejang-dong project.
Yoo was detained on October 3rd of last year on these charges and was approaching the expiration of his detention period on the 21st. According to the Criminal Procedure Act, a defendant can be detained for up to six months in the first trial from the date of indictment.
However, on September 29th of last year, just before the prosecution's search of his residence, Yoo allegedly contacted an acquaintance, A, instructing them to discard his mobile phone that had been entrusted to them in advance. He was additionally indicted on this charge on the 4th, which extended his detention period by up to six months.
※ If you are experiencing difficult feelings such as depression and need professional help, you can receive 24-hour counseling through the Suicide Prevention Hotline ☎1577-0199, Suicide Prevention Counseling ☎1393, Mental Health Counseling ☎1577-0199, Hope Call ☎129, Life Line ☎1588-9191, Youth Hotline ☎1388, Youth Mobile Counseling app 'Da Deureojul Gae', KakaoTalk, and other services.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.