Yoo Dong-gyu: "Kim Man-bae said, 'Through Kim Soo-nam, he got Lee Jae-myung's investigation removed in the Lee Seok-ki case'"

by Kim Daehyun

Published 12 Apr.2023 10:49(KST)

Prosecutor: Around 2013, did the witness say to Jeong Jin-sang, former Chief of Political Coordination at the Representative Office, that Mr. Kim Man-bae mentioned the possibility of Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung being booked in connection with the 'Lee Seok-ki Unified Progressive Party Member Incident' and the Seongnam city cleaning service contract issue?

Yoo Dong-gyu: When I contacted Mr. Kim asking 'Where are you?' he said 'Seocho-dong bathhouse.' We met at the bathhouse, and I asked, 'Is there something going on? Be honest.' Then Mr. Kim told me, 'Your Suwon District Prosecutors' Office is investigating. (Omitted) They are planning to oust Lee Jae-myung over the cleaning service issue.' I said, 'Then we should try to get out of this. Please use your influence.'

Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

On the 11th, during the hearing at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu), Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, continued his explosive testimony in the ongoing trial of former Chief Jeong, a close aide of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Yoo, who was indicted alongside former Chief Jeong on charges of bribery, appeared in court that day as a witness, not a defendant. This time, he claimed that in 2013, Mr. Kim had helped quash an investigation into Lee through former Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam.

The 'cleaning service' case involves allegations that during Lee’s 2010 Seongnam mayoral election, as a result of forming an opposition coalition, a social enterprise involving members of the now-dissolved Unified Progressive Party’s core faction, the Gyeonggi East Union, was selected as the service provider, receiving preferential treatment. This company was later identified as a funding source for the revolutionary organization (RO) and was investigated by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office. Lee sued the media outlets reporting these allegations but was countersued for defamation; however, in 2015, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict him.

Yoo testified, "At my request to use influence, I heard from Mr. Kim that 'through Kim Soo-nam (then head of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office), they got that removed. We were taken out of the case so that we wouldn’t be mentioned.' I also heard that Lee Jae-myung and Kim Soo-nam had a phone call afterward."

During this, the presiding judge said, "We have decided not to deal with facts too far removed from the elements of the charges against former Chief Jeong. Please keep this in mind." The prosecutor explained, "The purpose of the question is to confirm whether Mr. Kim said something that could be problematic for Lee Jae-myung and whether former Chief Jeong had a conversation about this." Yoo replied, "Yes. (Former Chief Jeong) said he cross-checked and thought Mr. Kim’s words were correct."

Notably, Yoo emphasized that Lee and former Chief Jeong were practically one entity. He testified, "Former Chief Jeong always identified himself with Lee Jae-myung. He said mentioning himself was the same as mentioning Lee." According to Yoo, when former Chief Jeong’s name was mentioned in reports on the Daejang-dong corruption allegations in September 2021, he said, "Wow, how dare they mention my name. This is an attack on Lee Jae-myung."

Yoo also claimed, "When Lee received reports, he would first ask, 'Have you consulted with Jin-sang?' Former Chief Jeong told me, 'You have to be close enough to kick open the mayor’s office door. Hurry and try to get that close too.'" He added, "I was so-called part of the 'Jeong Jin-sang line.' Former Chief Jeong recommended me to Lee, which allowed me to hold key positions at Seongnam City Facilities Management Corporation and Gyeonggi Tourism Organization, among others, while I was active as president of the local remodeling association."

Yoo further alleged that during preparations for Lee’s 2010 Seongnam mayoral election, he, former Chief Jeong, and former Deputy Director Kim Yong of the Democratic Research Institute planned to raise 1 billion KRW in political funds for Lee. He said, "It was agreed that if Lee won the mayoral election, I would work in development and construction projects. We talked about raising about 1 billion KRW from that side."

When the prosecutor asked, "Did you intend to receive money from private developers like Nam Wook, involved in the Daejang-dong development, as sponsors and pass it to Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong?" Yoo answered, "Yes."

He also testified that he delivered 10 million KRW in secret money to former Chief Jeong’s office at Seongnam City Hall three times during the 2013 Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays and the 2014 Lunar New Year. When asked if the money came from Nam Wook, Yoo said, "I remember it that way."

Former Chief Jeong’s defense repeatedly argued that there were problems with the witness examination process, pointing out prosecutorial leading questions. His lawyer said, "There were many leading questions from the prosecutor. We will raise issues about the credibility of the testimony if there are distortions in future answers. Please ensure this does not happen." Yoo is scheduled to appear again as a witness on the 14th to continue his testimony related to former Chief Jeong’s charges.

Previously, former Chief Jeong was indicted on charges including providing preferential treatment to private developers in the Daejang-dong development and promising to share 24.5% of common stock (4.28 billion KRW after common expenses deduction) as compensation. He is also accused of receiving 240 million KRW in seven installments from Yoo Dong-gyu in exchange for various conveniences. Prosecutors believe former Chief Jeong received 100 million KRW from Yoo after an arrest warrant was issued during the investigation.