Mayor Shin Sangjin: "Is the Prosecution Buying Time for the Daejang-dong Group?... Must Disclose Hidden Asset Flows"

Seongnam City: "Seized Accounts Are Empty Shells... Hwacheon Daeyu Holds Only 70,000 Won"
City Demands Substantial Data from Prosecution Amid Evidence of Criminal Proceeds Outflow
Actual Balance in Seized Accounts Totals Just 470 Million Won
Prosecution Withheld Information from City Despite Knowing 96% of Criminal Proceeds Were Concealed

Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor: Shin Sangjin) secured a provisional seizure order worth 550 billion won against the Daejang-dong group in connection with the Daejang-dong development corruption scandal. However, it has been revealed that the actual seized accounts are essentially "empty shells."

Seongnam City Hall exterior. Provided by Seongnam City.

On January 12, Seongnam City, in reference to the "Explanation Materials on Seongnam City Record Viewing and Copying" provided to reporters by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on January 8, strongly urged the prosecution to immediately fulfill the Justice Minister Jeong Seongho’s National Assembly pledge of "active support for civil litigation." The city called for the full "actual enforcement list" of all 18 asset preservation orders and the sharing of fund flow information.

After the prosecution decided not to appeal, concerns grew that Nam Wook, Kim Manbae, and other members of the Daejang-dong group would apply for the lifting of asset preservation orders and dispose of their assets. In response, based on the initial four "court asset preservation decisions" (for Kim Manbae, Nam Wook, Jung Younghak, and Yoo Donggyu) provided by the prosecution, Seongnam City urgently filed 14 provisional seizure and injunction applications on December 1, 2025. The court accepted all of them, totaling approximately 557.9 billion won.

However, according to statements from third-party debtors (financial institutions), the confirmed balances were at the "empty account" level: Hwacheon Daeyu (Kim Manbae’s side) had 70,000 won against a claim of 270 billion won; The Spring had 50,000 won against a claim of 100 billion won; and NSJ Holdings (Nam Wook’s side) had about 48 million won against a claim of 30 billion won.

Seongnam City raised concerns that the prosecution was already aware of this situation. According to criminal records (investigation report dated September 5, 2022), as of late July 2022, the prosecution found that 96.1% (about 427.7 billion won) of the 444.9 billion won in criminal proceeds had already been spent, concealed, or transferred, leaving only 3.9% (about 17.2 billion won) remaining in the accounts.

Additionally, as of January 2026, Seongnam City stated that the total balance of the relevant accounts confirmed through the provisional seizure process was only 470 million won, which is about 0.1% of the total.

Seongnam City said, "If the prosecution had sincerely shared the actual enforcement details for all 18 asset preservation orders from the beginning, we could have prioritized and more precisely and effectively seized assets with significant value, even with limited time and administrative resources."

Seongnam City also criticized the prosecution’s attitude. The city stated that the prosecution explained, "We have provided Seongnam City with four decisions; the remaining 14 should be obtained from the court." However, at the time the prosecution advised the city to obtain the records from the court, the prosecution itself had already borrowed and was keeping the 14 records from the court, so Seongnam City had no opportunity to access or copy them before applying for the provisional seizure.

Seongnam City asserted, "With only the court decisions, it is difficult for the victim to verify whether the freeze is still effective, whether there have been changes such as auctions or cancellations, or to track account balances and transaction routes." The city urged the prosecution to immediately provide the actual "asset preservation enforcement list" for all 18 cases, based on the ledgers (such as claim and preservation ledgers) managed according to the Prosecutors’ Office Case Management Rules.

Furthermore, Seongnam City emphasized that "empty accounts are not the endpoint, but rather the starting point for determining 'where the money disappeared to.'" Since the civil procedures, which lack investigative authority, are limited in tracing outflow routes such as money laundering or indirect transfers, the city demanded that the prosecution share information on the flow of criminal proceeds identified during the investigation and trial process.

Mayor Shin Sangjin of Seongnam stated, "If the prosecution avoids providing substantial information, it will inevitably raise suspicions that they are effectively buying time for the Daejang-dong group." He added, "Regardless of the prosecution’s cooperation, Seongnam City will continue to pursue the recovery of hidden assets to the end, but we strongly urge the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution to now engage in proactive cooperation in line with their promises."