[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Jeong Jinsang, former Chief Political Coordination Officer in the office of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is a close aide, denied all charges at his first trial, calling it "a case where an investigation was conducted and a sudden indictment was made targeting a specific person."
At 10 a.m. on the 31st, the 23rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu) held the first preparatory hearing for Jeong, who was detained and indicted on charges including bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
The preparatory hearing is a procedure to hear opinions from both the prosecution and defense and to establish a plan for evidence admission and proof. Although the defendant is not obligated to attend, Jeong appeared in court wearing a green prison uniform. Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, who was indicted without detention on charges of giving bribes, also attended.
On this day, Jeong’s defense team stated, "This case involved a long-term, large-scale investigation targeting a specific goal by the prosecution," denying all charges. The defense attorney said, "This case relies on Yoo Dong-gyu’s testimony without physical evidence. The credibility of that testimony is the most important issue," adding, "It is necessary to review how Yoo testified and what changes occurred during related trials and investigations." They also emphasized that "it is difficult to grasp the substance of the case and exercise the right to defense based solely on the indictment, which is based on Yoo Dong-gyu’s changed testimony."
On the other hand, the prosecution said, "During the investigation, Yoo Dong-gyu confessed to all criminal facts, but Jeong Jinsang mostly denied them," adding, "In light of this attitude, the key issues regarding the bribery charge will be whether Jeong received money or valuables, the consideration, and the relation to his duties." They also explained, "Regarding the charge of bribery after improper conduct, it concerns whether Jeong, upon Kim Man-bae’s request, designated and selected private contractors as developers for the Daejang-dong development project and provided them with unfair preferential treatment, whether he received reports and approval from Yoo Dong-gyu, and whether he agreed to receive part of the development profits from Kim Man-bae as consideration."
Jeong Jin-sang, former Chief of Political Coordination Office at the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending a pre-trial detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu on November 18 last year. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Furthermore, the prosecution requested the court to consolidate this case with the trial concerning Nam Wook, lawyer Kim Sang-il of the Seoul Central District Court’s 1st Criminal Division, who is presiding over the trial of Yoo Dong-gyu and accountant Jeong Young-hak, regarding the 'special preferential treatment related to the Wirye New Town development project,' stating that Yoo Dong-gyu is a co-offender and that most facts and evidence are identical. The court responded, "We will consult with the 1st Criminal Division and inform you about the next hearing (regarding consolidation, etc.)."
Jeong, who was detained and indicted on December 9 last year, is accused of receiving 140 million KRW in money and valuables six times from the Daejang-dong group between February 2013 and October 2020 (bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes), and, together with Deputy Director Kim and former Director Yoo, promised Kim Man-bae, major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, to share approximately 42.8 billion KRW in development profits from the Daejang-dong project as consideration for selecting the developer (bribery after improper conduct).
He is also accused of leaking internal secrets of Seongnam City and Seongnam Urban Development Corporation to private contractors including lawyer Nam between July 2013 and March 2017, enabling them to be selected as developers for the Wirye New Town development project, allowing Hoban Construction to implement and construct the project, thereby obtaining development profits worth approximately 21 billion KRW (violation of the Anti-Corruption Act), and instructing former Director Yoo to throw his mobile phone out the window to destroy evidence when the prosecution’s search was imminent on September 29, 2021 (obstruction of justice).
Former Director Yoo is accused of giving bribes totaling 60 million KRW in two installments to Jeong between September 2019 and October 2020 (bribery offering). While the statute of limitations for bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes is 10 years, it is 7 years for bribery offering, so most of the amount is outside the scope of punishment.
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