Court to Decide on Kim Man-bae's Bail "Considering Whether to Follow Jeong Jin-sang's Case"

by Kim HyeongMin

Published 26 Apr.2023 13:44(KST)

The court responsible for deciding whether to grant bail to Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), stated that it is "having difficulty making a decision."

Major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, Kim Man-bae [Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 26th, Kim Sang-il, the presiding judge of the Criminal Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Court, who is handling the case involving Kim's concealment of 39 billion KRW in profits from the Daejang-dong development, candidly said during the trial regarding the bail requests made by Kim and his associates Lee Han-seong and Choi Woo-hyang, "I am seriously considering whether to grant bail or to proceed with the trial until their release after the six-month detention period."

Previously, Kim was indicted while in custody in March, and Lee and Choi were indicted while in custody in January. According to our criminal procedure law, the maximum detention period for a first trial is six months. Even if the court denies the bail requests, Kim will be released in September, and Lee and Choi will be released in July.

The court stated, "The panel trial for Kim (the main Daejang-dong case) has been ongoing for over a year without a first-instance verdict yet, so it is impossible to conclude the trial within the detention period for this case as well," adding, "If bail is not granted due to concerns about evidence destruction raised by the prosecution, all will be released after six months, and no further warrants can be issued."

Furthermore, the court referred to the case of Jeong Jin-sang, former Director of Political Coordination at the Democratic Party's Representative Office, who was released on bail on the 21st. "It seems that using an electronic monitoring device while releasing him was a way to ensure attendance," the judge said, "Our court is also considering whether to do the same."

Earlier, the Criminal Division 23 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jo Byeong-gu) approved Jeong's bail but imposed conditions such as a ban on contact with case-related persons and the attachment of a location-tracking electronic device, considering the risk of evidence tampering.

When Judge Kim asked the prosecution whether there is a possibility of additional indictments against these individuals, they responded, "It is not at a stage where we can clearly state that."

Meanwhile, the court announced that it will consolidate and hear all cases, including the additional indictments of 10 people such as Kim's wife and Lee Seong-moon, co-CEO of Hwacheon Daeyu, as accomplices in the concealment of criminal proceeds. "There are many overlapping parts between the additional charges and those against Kim and others," the court said, ordering, "The prosecution should submit a final amended indictment that consolidates the accomplices through the indictment amendment procedure."