Daejangdong Gang Indictment Amendment "Breach of Trust Amount '489.5 Billion Won'"

Regarding the allegations of corruption and preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong development, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Lee Jun-cheol), which is currently hearing the case involving Hwacheon Daeyu major shareholder Kim Man-bae, former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation director Yoo Dong-gyu, and lawyer Nam Wook, approved the prosecution's request on the 5th to change the embezzlement amount in the indictment from "65.1 billion KRW + α" to "489.5 billion KRW." This reflects the charges against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was separately indicted.

Kim Man-bae (left), major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), Nam Wook, lawyer and owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 4, a subsidiary of Hwacheon Daeyu, and Jung Young-hak, accountant and owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 5

Earlier, the prosecution applied for this change in the indictment against the Daejang-dong group. Lee’s case was assigned to the Criminal Division 33 of the same court (Presiding Judge Kim Dong-hyun), and the Criminal Division 22, which is hearing the other group’s case, was asked to align the embezzlement amount with Lee’s case. When Kim and others were first indicted in November 2021, the indictment stated the embezzlement amount as "at least 65.1 billion KRW," but after additional investigations, the amount was assessed as 489.5 billion KRW when Lee was indicted in March.

With about a year and a half of hearings on the Daejang-dong group’s case, the court stated, "According to the amended charges, additional evidence investigation or hearings are necessary to verify the evidence presented so far or facts not included therein," and accepted the prosecution’s request on that day.

Additionally, the court announced that it would "organize promptly" the proceedings of the Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town related cases, which have been divided among three different criminal divisions within the Seoul Central District Court, including charges of violation of the Public Official Conflict of Interest Prevention Act besides embezzlement.

The prosecution repeatedly requested the consolidation of the two cases, arguing that the violation of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act is closely related to the main embezzlement case in Daejang-dong.

In response, the court said, "Overall, consolidation might seem appropriate, but since the progress of the hearings differs significantly, if consolidated, it is uncertain whether the hearings can be concluded within this year," adding, "We will be able to decide after the completion of evidence submission regarding the violation of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act."