Jung Jin-sang "Grateful to the Court for Guaranteeing the Right to Defense"... Lawyer "Evidence Records Exceed 40,000 Pages"

"I Will Approach Trials More Diligently from Now On"

On the afternoon of the 21st, Jeong Jin-sang, former Chief Political Coordination Officer of the Democratic Party's Representative Office, was released on bail and is leaving Seoul Detention Center. On the right is lawyer Lee Geon-tae.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Jeong Jin-sang, former Chief of Political Coordination at the Democratic Party's Representative Office, who was released on bail on the 21st after five months of detention, expressed gratitude to the court for guaranteeing his right to defense and said, "I will sincerely participate in the trial from now on."

At around 5:35 p.m. that day, as he left the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi Province, Jeong said, "I thank the court for guaranteeing the basic right of defense for the people."

When asked if he denies the suspicion of a 42.8 billion won agreement, he trailed off, saying, "That is separate..."

Jeong is accused of providing special favors to private developers involved in the Daejang-dong development project and promising to share 24.5% of the common stock equity held by private operators (428 billion won after deducting common expenses) as compensation (charge of bribery after abuse of power). He was arrested and indicted in December last year.

He is also charged with receiving a total of 240 million won in seven installments from Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, in exchange for facilitating various projects while serving as Seongnam City Policy Secretary and Gyeonggi Province Policy Director from February 2013 to October 2020.

On the same day, the 23rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jo Byung-gu) approved Jeong’s bail request.

He was required to pay a bail deposit of 50 million won, with 20 million won allowed to be replaced by an insurance bond. He also had to submit a written pledge not to evade court appearances or tamper with evidence, along with an appearance guarantee letter written by his wife.

Due to concerns about evidence tampering, he is prohibited from contacting individuals related to the case. Meetings, phone calls, text messages, or social media contacts with witnesses, other persons who testified during the investigation, or any other parties involved in the case are forbidden. Indirect contact through third parties is also prohibited.

His residence is restricted, and he must obtain prior approval to move. An electronic device will be attached for real-time location tracking.

Meanwhile, immediately after the court’s bail decision, Jeong’s lawyer issued a statement saying, "We thank the court for granting bail," and added, "We will comply with the bail conditions set by the court and sincerely participate in the trial."

The lawyer stated, "Our Constitution and Criminal Procedure Act establish the presumption of innocence, the principle of non-detention during trial, and the principle of equality of arms. The prosecution submitted over 56 volumes and more than 40,000 pages of evidence records," adding, "If Jeong remains detained, the defense lawyers will not be able to bring the 40,000 pages of records to the detention center or consult with Jeong."

He emphasized, "Proceeding with the trial while Jeong is detained effectively undermines the principles of presumption of innocence and equality of arms."