[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Jeong Jinsang, former Chief of Political Coordination Office and a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, requested the court to allow him to stand trial without detention a day before his first trial.
On the 30th, Jeong submitted a bail petition to the Criminal Division 23 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu). Jeong’s first trial will be held at 10 a.m. on the 31st. Yoo, former head of the planning department, who is also charged with bribery, will stand trial together. The pretrial hearing is a procedure to hear opinions from both the prosecution and defense and to decide on evidence admission and other proof plans, and the defendant is not required to attend.
Earlier, Jeong was detained on November 19 last year on charges related to corruption in the Daejang-dong development project. Two days after his detention, he filed a detention review petition requesting reconsideration of his detention, but it was dismissed.
The prosecution indicted Jeong on December 9 last year on charges including bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, and he was tried while in detention.
Jeong is accused of providing preferential treatment to private developers in the Daejang-dong development project and promising to share 24.5% of the common stock shares held by private developers (after deducting common expenses, amounting to 42.8 billion KRW) as a bribe (accepting benefits after wrongful acts).
Jung Jin-sang, Chief of Political Coordination at the Office of the Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the detention hearing (warrant review) held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu on November 18 last year. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Additionally, from February 2013 to October 2020, while serving as Policy Secretary of Seongnam City and Director of Policy Office of Gyeonggi Province, the prosecution claims that Jeong received a total of 240 million KRW in money and goods in seven installments from Yoo Dong-gyu, former Head of Planning at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, in exchange for facilitating various projects.
Jeong is also accused of leaking confidential internal documents related to the Wirye New Town development project to private developers, enabling them to gain profits worth approximately 21 billion KRW (violation of the Anti-Corruption Act), and instructing Yoo to throw his mobile phone out the window when a prosecution raid was imminent on September 29, 2021 (obstruction of evidence).
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