Court Grants Conditional Release to Kim Inseop, Lobbyist for Baekhyeondong Development

Court Orders Electronic Device Attachment and Prohibits Contact with Related Parties and SNS Usage

Kim In-seop, former CEO of Korea Housing Technology, who acted as a lobbyist during the Baekhyeon-dong development project, will be released on bail.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon) approved Kim's bail request on the 10th. However, the court set the following conditions for bail: △payment of a 50 million won deposit △attachment of an electronic monitoring device △approval procedures for changing residence or traveling abroad △obligation to attend trials △prohibition of contact with related parties such as witnesses and persons of interest △reporting to the probation office.

Under the Criminal Procedure Act, the maximum detention period for a defendant indicted while in custody during the first trial is six months. Kim, who was indicted in May this year, had his detention period set to expire early next month. Currently, there are about ten witnesses selected for the scheduled trial who are awaiting examination.

Previously, Jeong Jin-sang, former Political Coordination Officer of the Democratic Party’s Representative Office, and Kim Yong, former Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, were also released on bail as their first trial detention periods were nearing expiration.

Kim was indicted and detained on charges of receiving 7.7 billion won from Asia Developer Chairman Jung Ba-ul (also indicted and detained), a real estate development company, as a bribe for facilitating permits related to the Baekhyeon-dong development project by leveraging his friendship with Representative Lee from September 2015 to March this year, as well as receiving business rights worth about 500 million won for a lunchbox restaurant.