The court decided to hold the first trial sentencing for the private operators accused of leading the 'Daejang-dong development corruption case' on Oct. 31. This comes four years after the prosecution first indicted the related case in October 2021.
The 22nd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Director General Jo Hyung-woo) designated the sentencing date for the Daejang-dong private operators at 2 p.m. on Oct. 31 during the closing arguments on the 30th.
Previously, on the 27th, the prosecution requested a 12-year prison sentence for Kim Man-bae, the majority shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, and a 7-year prison sentence with a fine of 1.7 billion won for former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation planning director Yoo Dong-kyu.
Additionally, they requested that Kim be ordered to forfeit 611.2 billion won and Yoo to forfeit 850 million won.
The prosecution requested a 10-year prison sentence and a forfeiture of 64.7 billion won for accountant Jeong Yeong-hak, a 7-year prison sentence and a forfeiture of 101.1 billion won for lawyer Nam Wook, and a 5-year prison sentence with a fine of 7.4 billion won and a forfeiture of 3.7 billion won for lawyer Jeong Min-yong.
The prosecution noted, 'The private operators made astronomical profits, and the damages were fully passed on to the local residents,' adding, 'Ultimately, public trust in the fairness and transparency of the development project has been undermined, necessitating a strict ruling by the law.'
Yoo, Kim, Jeong, lawyer Nam, and lawyer Jeong were indicted for allegedly garnering a total of 788.6 billion won in illegitimate profits by exploiting internal secrets of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation during the Daejang-dong project from August 2014 to March 2015. Since the first trial began in November 2021, there have been approximately 188 hearings over the past 3 years and 7 months.
The court summoned President Lee Jae-myung, the final decision-maker at that time, as a witness five times during the proceedings, but President Lee did not appear on any occasion. Subsequently, Jeong Jin-sang, a close aide to President Lee, appeared as a witness but refused to testify to all questions.
President Lee has been undergoing separate trials at the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Director General Lee Jin-gwan) for allegedly leaking job-related secrets learned during his term as Seongnam mayor from August 2014, allowing private operators to gain undue profits (violations of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, etc.). However, following President Lee's election, the trial court changed the scheduled court date originally planned for the 24th based on Article 84 of the Constitution, which specifies presidential non-prosecution privilege, thus postponing the trial indefinitely.