[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The prosecution investigating the Daejang-dong development and lobbying favoritism allegations has summoned Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), again. This is the first investigation since Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and one of the key figures in this case, was indicted. Kim has already undergone three rounds of prosecution questioning. Lawyer Nam Wook is scheduled to be questioned in the afternoon.
On the 24th, the dedicated investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-hoon) summoned Kim again this morning for questioning. This comes just three days after summoning and questioning four key figures: Kim, former Director Yoo, Lawyer Nam, and accountant Jung Young-hak on the 21st.
Kim appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office at 9:48 a.m. and only responded to reporters' questions by saying, "I will sincerely cooperate with the investigation." He did not answer questions such as "Did the prosecution not play the recordings related to that person (as referred to)?", "Lawyer Nam said that the actual owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 1 is former Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu; do you have any comments?", or "Do you deny the allegation that you promised to pay 70 billion KRW to former Director Yoo as a reward?"
This additional questioning of Kim appears to be part of the prosecution's efforts to decide whether to reapply for an arrest warrant against him. The prosecution believes that Kim, along with former Director Yoo, designed the project so that large sums of money would go to private operators, causing the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation to suffer losses worth several hundred billion KRW, and agreed to pay 70 billion KRW to former Director Yoo as compensation.
However, although the prosecution applied for an arrest warrant against Kim on charges including bribery, the court dismissed the warrant on the 14th, stating, "While there is a significant need to guarantee the suspect's right to defense, it is difficult to conclude that the necessity for detention has been sufficiently demonstrated."
Following Kim, Lawyer Nam is scheduled to appear before the prosecution in the afternoon. Earlier, the prosecution unexpectedly arrested Lawyer Nam, owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 4 and one of the key figures in this case, upon his return to the country but released him without applying for an arrest warrant, which was an unusual move. Subsequently, the investigation team conducted confrontation questioning by summoning the so-called 'Daejang-dong Four'?Kim, Lawyer Nam, former Director Yoo, and accountant Jung.
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