Kim Man-bae, who is accused of bribing the chairperson of the Seongnam City Council to help establish the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation in connection with the Daejang-dong development project, was acquitted in the second trial. In the previous first trial, Kim was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison.
On the 8th, the Criminal Division 2-3 of the Suwon High Court (Judges Park Kwang-seo, Kim Min-ki, and Kim Jong-woo) ruled in the appeals trial of Kim's bribery case, stating, "There was an error of fact and misunderstanding of legal principles in the parts that the original trial recognized as guilty," and overturned the original trial.
Choi Yun-gil, former chairperson of the Seongnam City Council, who was also sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in the first trial, was acquitted in the second trial. Choi is accused of receiving a request from Kim and passing the local government ordinance for the establishment of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation through improper means (receiving a bribe after improper handling).
Unlike the first trial, the second trial court found the testimonies of witnesses such as Nam Wook and Jeong Young-hak to lack credibility. The second trial court stated, "Nam Wook's testimony is inconsistent, vague, and shows an attitude of evading responsibility, making it difficult to believe." It further noted, "The original trial considered that the defendant Choi Yun-gil would block the exit of the members of the New Frontier Party who opposed the establishment of the corporation, as residents of Daejang-dong were blocking the doors of the meeting room, viewing this as a significant criminal circumstance. However, we do not see any physical conflict that would warrant a request for security at that time, and the defendant's actions cannot be viewed as going beyond the political activities typically allowed."
The court added, "Kim Man-bae's bribery must be predicated on Choi Yun-gil's misconduct in office," and stated, "Therefore, since Choi Yun-gil's guilt cannot be established, it cannot be said that Kim Man-bae's guilt can also be established."
Meanwhile, Kim was indicted for asking the former chairperson Choi in March 2012 to "pass the local government ordinance for the establishment of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation," and for employing Choi as vice-chair of Hwacheon Daeyu in February 2021, promising a performance bonus of 4 billion won to be paid in installments and giving him 80 million won under the guise of salary and other payments. Former Chairperson Choi is accused of leading the passage of the ordinance in February 2013. Although the agenda was rejected due to lack of quorum in the electronic vote, he is accused of conducting a revote by hand after claiming that "the voting machine was broken," thereby violating the principle of a single vote and passing the ordinance.