Simultaneous Summons of the 'Daejang-dong Four' by Prosecution... Focus on Whether Confrontation Will Occur

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The prosecution investigating the preferential treatment and lobbying allegations in the Daejang-dong development case is currently summoning all the so-called 'Daejang-dong Four.' These include Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), lawyer Nam Wook, accountant Jeong Young-hak, owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 5 and the party involved in the recorded conversations, and former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu. There is also a possibility of a confrontation investigation among them.

On the 20th, the dedicated investigation team of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office summoned Kim again at 2 p.m. This came just six days after the court dismissed the arrest warrant on the 14th. The prosecution believes that Kim, along with former Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, designed the project so that a large sum of money would go to private operators. During this process, they suspect that Kim promised to pay 70 billion KRW to former Director Yoo and provided a bribe of 500 million KRW.

Lawyer Nam was also summoned. It is known that the prosecution plans to conduct additional investigations and then request an arrest warrant, as sufficient investigation was not conducted within the detention period, which led to his release. Kim is also expected to be investigated two or three more times before reapplying for an arrest warrant, as he faced criticism for hastily requesting an arrest warrant without proper investigation.

Before the investigation on this day, Kim met with reporters and, regarding lawyer Nam's statement that "two people among the so-called '50 Billion Promise Club' actually received money," said, "There was no lobbying," and added, "I will explain well to the prosecution," withholding further comments.

Lawyer Nam, who appeared again 13 hours after being released due to the expiration of the detention period, responded to reporters' questions asking, "Is the 'that person' mentioned in Jeong Young-hak's recorded conversations Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung?" by reaffirming, "From the beginning, I understand that 'that person' is not Governor Lee Jae-myung."

In addition, accountant Jeong and former Director Yoo, who are parties to the recorded conversations, were also summoned for investigation. Since the prosecution started the investigation based on the recordings submitted by accountant Jeong, they are expected to verify the authenticity of the statements with them. Former Director Yoo, who is currently detained, is undergoing final investigations before indictment as his detention period expires on the 22nd. Yoo is suspected of causing a loss of over 110 billion KRW to Seongnam Urban Development Corporation by, among other things, not including a clause for excess profit recovery. The prosecution regards Kim and lawyer Nam as accomplices in this charge.