[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] A former Incheon City Council member accused of making over 3 billion KRW in capital gains through real estate speculation using undisclosed information had his arrest warrant dismissed by the court.
On the 19th, the Incheon District Court announced that it had dismissed the arrest warrant for former Incheon City Council member A (61), who is charged with violating the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Operation of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (Anti-Corruption Act).
Judge Jang Ki-seok, in charge of warrants at the Incheon District Court, conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant substantive examination) for Mr. A that afternoon and stated, "Most of the evidence necessary to prove the charges has already been collected," adding, "The suspect only differs with the investigative agency regarding the confidentiality of the information, but does not dispute most of the objective facts." He further explained, "Considering the suspect's current status, it is unlikely that there is a risk of destroying evidence by coercing or threatening witnesses," and "The suspect has a fixed residence and has responded sincerely to summonses from the investigative agency, so there is no risk of flight," citing these as reasons for dismissal.
Mr. A is accused of purchasing a 3,435 square meter plot of land in the Baekseok-dong Handul Urban Development Project area in Seo-gu, Incheon, for 1.96 billion KRW in August 2017 while serving as chairman of the Construction and Transportation Committee of the Incheon City Council, using undisclosed information, and then earning over 3 billion KRW in capital gains. The site received approval for the Handul Urban Development Project implementation plan two weeks after his purchase.
At that time, it is known that Mr. A borrowed 1.68 billion KRW out of the 1.96 billion KRW land purchase cost. Instead of the land in the Handul district he bought, he received commercial land worth 4.95 billion KRW at current market value through a "land readjustment" method. Land readjustment refers to compensating landowners with other land instead of money during urban development projects.
The police applied for a pre-indictment seizure preservation order to prevent Mr. A from arbitrarily disposing of the Handul district land under his name, and the court recently approved it.
Additionally, after stepping down from his city council position, Mr. A was investigated for purchasing four plots of land worth about 1.8 billion KRW in Geumgok-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon, in April and September 2019, together with the brother of a former National Assembly member. After they acquired this land, around June last year, the construction project for the "Gwangro 3-24 Line" road connecting Geumgok-dong, Majon-dong, and Daegok-dong in Seo-gu was confirmed near the site.
The police believe that Mr. A, who was chairman of the city council's Construction and Transportation Committee in 2017, had received various information in advance from the Incheon City Urban Development Department regarding the Handul Urban Development Project. The police are also reviewing whether the Anti-Corruption Act can be applied to the four plots in Geumgok-dong purchased when Mr. A was no longer a city council member.
Meanwhile, before attending the warrant substantive examination on the day, Mr. A responded "No" to reporters' questions asking, "You bought real estate with a loan, but wasn't it to seek capital gains?"
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