Seongnam City Strongly Condemns Prosecution's Decision to Drop Daejang-dong Appeal: "A License for Impunity Abandoning State Authority"

Seongnam City: "Setback in Recovering 489.5 Billion Won in Daejang-dong Embezzlement Damages"
Prosecution’s Decision Not to Appeal Raises Allegations of "External Pressure"... "Will Fully Disclose the Background"
City Announces Strong Response: "Expanding Civil Lawsuits... Will Recover the Full 489.5 Billion Won"

Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province has expressed deep regret and anger over the prosecution's decision to forgo appealing the first trial verdict in the Daejang-dong development corruption case, strongly criticizing it as an unjust act that blocks the recovery of losses suffered by Seongnam citizens.

Sangjin Shin, Mayor of Seongnam. Photo provided by Seongnam City

On November 10, Seongnam City issued an official statement, condemning the prosecution’s decision not to appeal as “an unfair move that abandons the state’s authority to punish crimes, effectively granting impunity for the ‘corruption crimes resulting from long-term collusion’ identified by the first trial court.”

Seongnam City pointed out that, during the first trial, the prosecution argued that the city and Seongnam Urban Development Corporation suffered damages totaling 489.5 billion won, and the court also acknowledged these facts. Nevertheless, the city criticized the prosecution for abruptly abandoning its appeal.

The city strongly denounced the decision, stating, “This constitutes dereliction of duty, as the prosecution has abandoned its fundamental responsibility to recover losses for citizens as a representative of the public interest. Ultimately, it is incomprehensible that this decision effectively grants impunity, allowing unjust profits worth hundreds of billions of won to remain in the hands of private operators such as Kim Manbae, the biggest corruption criminal since the founding of Korea.”

In particular, Seongnam City noted that it had planned to use the first trial’s criminal verdict to specifically calculate the amount of damages for a civil lawsuit. However, the recent decision raises concerns that the recognized amount of damages may be drastically reduced.

Seongnam City announced its firm stance that it will not be deterred and will respond resolutely to protect citizens’ tax money.

The city plans to focus all its resources on ensuring the full recovery of all damages suffered by citizens-including expanding the claim amount in ongoing civil lawsuits against those involved, to include the 489.5 billion won in embezzlement damages prosecuted by the authorities.

Seongnam City emphasized that it will take all necessary follow-up measures to ensure judicial justice by clearly revealing whether the decision to forgo the appeal constituted an abuse of authority, and whether the Ministry of Justice or the Office of the President improperly intervened or exerted external pressure during the process.

The city pledged to represent only the interests and happiness of its citizens, vowing to mobilize all administrative and legal resources to protect the property of Seongnam citizens despite the prosecution’s unjust decision.