Reassigned to the 6th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court
Judge in the 3rd Criminal Division Previously Assigned Was a Judicial Training Institute Classmate of Nam Wook
The Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul High Court will take charge of the case involving private contractors implicated in the alleged Daejang-dong development corruption scandal. The case was reassigned after it was confirmed that a judge from the originally assigned Criminal Division 3 was a Judicial Research and Training Institute classmate of lawyer Nam Wook.
Former Planning Director Yoo Donggyu of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, who was indicted on allegations of corruption related to the Daejang-dong development, is attending the first trial sentencing hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 31st. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the legal community on November 12, the Seoul High Court reassigned the case involving Kim Manbae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management and a private contractor in Daejang-dong, along with lawyer Nam Wook, accountant Jung Younghak, former Planning Director Yoo Donggyu of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and lawyer Jung Minyong, to Criminal Division 6 (Presiding Judges: Jeong Jaeo, Choi Eunjeong, and Lee Yesle).
Criminal Division 6 is a specialized panel for corruption cases and previously acquitted President Lee Jaemyung in March on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act during his appellate trial.
The court stated, "On November 11, Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul High Court, which was initially assigned the Daejang-dong case, requested reassignment in accordance with the 'Seoul High Court's Guidelines for Reassignment of Cases Involving Attorneys with Personal Connections,' as one of the judges was a classmate (37th class) of defendant Nam Wook at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. After confirming the grounds for reassignment, the Seoul High Court reassigned the case to Criminal Division 6, the next corruption-specialized panel following the one that most recently handled a corruption detention case, as per the guidelines."
According to the recommendations in the Seoul High Court's guidelines, cases must be reassigned if a judge's spouse or a relative within the second degree of kinship works as an attorney at a law firm involved in the case. If a defendant is a classmate of a panel member from the Judicial Research and Training Institute, the case is handled in the same way as if the judge's spouse or close relative were involved.
Previously, the Criminal Agreement Division 22 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Cho Hyungwoo), which handled the first trial, sentenced Kim Manbae to eight years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 42.8 billion won on October 31. Former director Yoo Donggyu was sentenced to eight years in prison, a fine of 400 million won, and forfeiture of 810 million won. Lawyer Nam Wook received a four-year prison sentence, while accountant Jung Younghak, the fifth owner who started the business with Nam Wook, was sentenced to five years in prison. Lawyer Jung Minyong, a university junior of Nam Wook who entered the corporation on Nam Wook's recommendation and served as head of the Investment Business Team in the Strategic Business Office, was sentenced to six years in prison, a fine of 3.8 billion won, and forfeiture of 3.722 billion won.
Previously, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office did not appeal the first-instance verdict against the so-called "Daejang-dong group." All five defendants appealed. Under the Criminal Procedure Act, if only the defendant appeals, the principle of "prohibition of disadvantageous changes" applies, meaning a heavier sentence cannot be imposed. The prosecution had requested the forfeiture of the entire 788.6 billion won of illicit gains in the first trial, but the court only ordered the forfeiture of 47.332 billion won in bribes.
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