On the 27th, a businessman accused of perjury in the trial concerning Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, for violating the Public Official Election Act, and of pocketing tens of billions of won as a commission for brokering the Baekhyeon-dong project, underwent a detention hearing. Kim is known to be an associate of former CEO Kim In-seop, who played the role of a 'lobbyist' in the Baekhyeon-dong development project.
'Baekhyeon-dong Lobby' Kim In-seop's Close Associate Appears for Detention Hearing (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Jun-hee = Kim Mo, a close associate of former Korea Housing Technology CEO Kim In-seop, who acted as a lobbyist in Seongnam City related to the 'Baekhyeon-dong Development Corruption Allegations,' is attending the detention hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court on the 27th.
That morning, Judge Yoon Jae-nam, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, conducted the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) for Kim.
Upon appearing in court, when asked by reporters whether he received money as a commission related to the Baekhyeon-dong project, Kim denied, saying "No." He did not respond to questions about any connection with Lee Jae-myung. The decision on Kim's detention is expected to be made either that night or early the next morning.
Kim is accused of perjury for testifying as a witness in February 2019 during the trial of Lee Jae-myung's so-called 'impersonation of a prosecutor' case under the Public Official Election Act.
Previously, Lee was prosecuted and fined 1.5 million won for impersonating a public official (impersonating a prosecutor) in the 'Bundang Parkview preferential sale case' in 2002 while he was a lawyer, in collusion with KBS PD Choi Cheol-ho, who was covering the case.
At that time, PD Choi impersonated a prosecutor to cover Kim Byung-ryang, then mayor of Seongnam. In a 2018 Gyeonggi Province governor candidate debate, Lee stated that 'the broadcasting PD impersonated a prosecutor, but I did not,' which led to him being prosecuted for spreading false information. Kim, a former secretary to former Mayor Kim and a victim of the 'prosecutor impersonation,' testified in court that "there was an opinion from the side of former Mayor Kim Byung-ryang, who sued Lee Jae-myung, to withdraw the accusation against PD Choi in order to frame Lee as the main culprit of impersonation."
The prosecution believes that Kim received multiple contacts from Lee requesting him to provide favorable testimony in the trial and gave false testimony, and has secured a phone call recording file containing related circumstances.
Kim is also accused of receiving about 70 million won from a wireless communication equipment manufacturer as a commission for facilitating deliveries to Gyeonggi Province and others between February and April 2019. The prosecution suspects that Kim arranged the deliveries for the company as a reward for providing favorable testimony in Lee's trial and pocketed kickbacks.
The prosecution applied charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, alleging that Kim conspired with former CEO Kim to receive 7 billion won from Jung, CEO of Asia Developer, as a commission for brokering permits and approvals for the Baekhyeon-dong development project, of which 3.5 billion won was actually received.
Lee's side denies the allegations, stating, "We only asked Kim to testify truthfully, not to commit perjury."
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