[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Will the prosecution be able to get Kim Yong, Deputy Director of the Minjoo Research Institute, and Jeong Jin-sang, Political Coordination Officer of the Democratic Party of Korea's Representative Office, to speak within this year? With the last month of the year approaching, attention is focused on whether these two individuals will open their mouths, as the direction of the prosecution's investigation is expected to change significantly depending on this.
According to the prosecution on the 27th, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) has decided to indict Officer Jeong between the end of this month and early next month and is actively investigating him. On the 25th, Officer Jeong was summoned from the detention center for questioning. This came a day after the court dismissed his request for a detention review, marking the start of a full-scale investigation.
Officer Jeong is known as a close aide of Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, along with Deputy Director Kim. For this reason, the prosecution views Officer Jeong and Deputy Director Kim as 'key men' holding decisive clues to Lee's involvement and is focusing its investigation on them. In particular, Officer Jeong has been described as being politically linked with Lee as part of a 'political community.'
It is reported that Officer Jeong still denies the charges against him. He was arrested on the 19th on suspicion of receiving 140 million KRW in bribes and promising to receive about 42.8 billion KRW from the Daejang-dong development profits in exchange for providing various conveniences to the 'Daejang-dong group.' He is also accused of leaking internal secrets related to the Wirye New Town development of Seongnam City to Nam Wook and others, enabling them to gain huge profits, and of having former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu dispose of his mobile phone last year.
Deputy Director Kim faces similar charges. He was indicted on suspicion of conspiring with former Director Yoo Dong-gyu and lawyer Jeong Min-yong (former head of strategic business at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation) from April to August last year, around the time of the Democratic Party's presidential primary, to receive 847 million KRW in four installments from lawyer Nam Wook as presidential campaign funds, but he denies all charges.
Even if the two do not speak, the prosecution is confident it can change the atmosphere in court by presenting key physical evidence. It is reported that the prosecution has not presented major evidence during the investigation of the two. Considering that from this year the evidentiary value of suspect interrogation records has been removed, it is interpreted that the prosecution has not revealed its hidden cards during their questioning. Deputy Director Kim's trial is set to begin soon. The first trial will be held at 10 a.m. on the 23rd at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu). Officer Jeong, who is expected to be indicted by early next month at the latest, will likely stand trial starting early next year.
The ongoing daily revelations by the 'Daejang-dong group' may also prompt the two to speak. Lawyer Nam has repeatedly testified in court that the 'Cheonhadongin No. 1,' who reaped enormous profits from the Daejang-dong urban development project, is Lee Jae-myung's stake. In the trial on the 25th, when asked by the defense lawyer of former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu whether Lee Jae-myung's share includes Lee himself, Lawyer Nam replied, "I understand it that way," adding, "Since the person responsible was then Mayor Lee of Seongnam City, I think the share was decided according to his intentions."
However, Lawyer Nam's testimonies are hearsay from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), and if Kim denies them, they lose evidentiary value. This is why attention is focused on Kim's trial this week, his first appearance after his release at the end of his detention period. The trial will be held on the 2nd of next month. On that day, Kim's side will cross-examine Lawyer Nam, questioning the intent behind his testimony, which could either lend credibility or lead to denial.
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