Prosecution to Conduct Closed-Door Summons of Lee Jae-myung's Closest Aide Jeong Jin-sang on the 13th... Payment Line in Daejang-dong Development Project

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] It has been confirmed that the prosecution investigating the Daejang-dong case recently summoned and questioned Jeong Jin-sang, deputy chief of the election campaign office and considered a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, in a closed session.

According to the legal community on the 16th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's dedicated investigation team (led by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-hoon) summoned and questioned Deputy Chief Jeong on the afternoon of the 13th on charges including abuse of authority and breach of trust related to the Daejang-dong development project. At that time, Deputy Chief Jeong agreed to a late-night investigation, and the questioning reportedly extended past midnight into the early hours of the following day.

Deputy Chief Jeong served as the Policy Director of Seongnam City during the Daejang-dong project, assisting then-Mayor Lee, and is currently a close aide to Lee, serving as the deputy chief of the Democratic Party's election campaign office.

He personally approved various Daejang-dong project documents, including the 2016 Seongnam Pangyo Daejang urban development project plan change and implementation plan approval report.

He is also suspected of involvement in forcing Hwang Mu-seong, the inaugural president of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, to resign.

Earlier, after the Daejang-dong allegations investigation intensified, former President Hwang released a February 6, 2015, recording of a conversation with former Development Project Director Yuhan Gi of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation. In this recording, former Director Yu repeatedly mentioned higher-ups such as "Mayor" and "Director Jeong," urging former President Hwang to resign.

Additionally, forensic analysis of mobile phone data by the prosecution revealed that Deputy Chief Jeong had multiple phone calls with former Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu, who was considered a "key man" in the case, until just before Yoo was subjected to a prosecution search in late September last year when the Daejang-dong allegations intensified.

The prosecution had been coordinating summons schedules with Deputy Chief Jeong since last month, but Jeong avoided the summons citing various reasons. The summons investigations were further delayed following the recent extreme choice by former Director Yuhan Gi and the death of Kim Moon-gi, Head of Development Division 1.