Who is the man who picked up the phone Yudonggyu threw out the window without hesitation and disappeared?

About 20 Minutes After Throwing the Cell Phone, Picked It Up as If Realizing It Was Far Away

A closed-circuit television (CCTV) video showing the situation when Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, threw his mobile phone out the window during a prosecution search on the 29th of last month has been released. The footage shows a male pedestrian finding the mobile phone and taking it away. Photo by Channel A broadcast screen capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing the moment when former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu threw his mobile phone out the window during a prosecution search and seizure on the 29th of last month has been released. Yoo, the former director, is a figure who was arrested on suspicion of preferential treatment and corruption related to the Daejang-dong development project in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si.

According to a Channel A report on the 18th, the CCTV footage clearly recorded the moment around 8:19 a.m. on the 29th of last month when Yoo’s mobile phone fell onto the sidewalk. The phone was thrown by Yoo from the 9th floor of the building across the street.

In the recorded footage, a female pedestrian glanced at the mobile phone lying on the sidewalk and passed by without picking it up. A man walking in the opposite direction also stared at the phone for a while before continuing on his way.

About 28 minutes later, at around 8:47 a.m., a man wearing a white top picked up the phone and disappeared across the road. From the footage, the man appeared to know the phone was there and picked it up without hesitation.

Yoo Dong-gyu, former Head of Planning at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, one of the key figures in the Daejang-dong development project corruption allegations in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, Yoo was suspected of attempting to destroy evidence by throwing his phone out the window during the prosecution’s search and seizure. Regarding this, Yoo’s lawyer Kim Guk-il explained that it was a "phone replaced two weeks ago" and that Yoo "discarded the phone as media inquiries poured in."

Initially, the prosecution stated on the 4th that "after checking the CCTV inside and outside the residence, there was no fact that the window was open before or after the search and seizure." However, the Daejang-dong special investigation team of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency analyzed CCTV footage installed around Yoo’s residence and tracked down the citizen who picked up the phone and secured it on the 7th.

According to the police, the phone is the latest model iPhone but is known to be severely damaged. The person who found it is identified as a resident near Yoo’s residence, but it has not been confirmed whether they are related to the Daejang-dong case.

Regarding this, the prosecution said, "We sincerely apologize for the failure of the prosecution investigation team to thoroughly check all CCTV to search for the phone," and added, "We will actively cooperate with the police’s analysis of the secured phone and do our best to uncover the truth of this case."

Meanwhile, Yoo filed a request for a review of detention on the 18th, asking the court to reconsider his detention. The court’s decision is expected to be announced late in the afternoon on the 19th.