Not-guilty verdicts for Nam Uk, Jeong Yeonghak, and Yoo Donggyu finalized
The prosecution has decided not to appeal the first-instance ruling that acquitted private business operators indicted over alleged corruption in the Wirye New Town development project.
From left: Yoo Donggyu, former Head of Planning at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, Nam Wook, lawyer, Jung Younghak, accountant. Provided by Yonhap News
On the 4th, the last day of the appeal period, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced, "After comprehensively considering the results of our legal review and the likelihood of an appeal being upheld, we have decided not to file an appeal."
An official from the prosecution explained, "After sufficient discussions with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, we decided not to appeal," adding, "The Minister of Justice did not exercise investigative command authority, nor was any separate directive issued."
Earlier, in the first-instance trial, the court acquitted private business operators, including Yoo Donggyu, former head of planning at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, lawyer Nam Uk, and accountant Jeong Yeonghak, who had been indicted on charges of violating the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act (currently the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act).
The court found that the information obtained by the private business operators during the promotion of the Wirye development project constituted a legal "secret," on the grounds that if such information were made public externally, it could undermine fair competition, and collusion between public officials and private business operators could cause social distrust.
However, the court held that what the defendants directly obtained by using this confidential information was nothing more than project operator status, and that additional acts and the involvement of third parties would be required to obtain the dividend profits specified in the indictment. Since dividends would only arise after several subsequent procedures, including Seongnam City's project approval and review, sales, and apartment construction, the court effectively ruled that it is difficult to recognize a direct causal relationship between the status of project operator and the dividend profits.
With the prosecution abandoning its appeal, the acquittal of the private business operators has now been finalized. As a result, all asset-freeze measures imposed for confiscation and preservation in connection with the case are also expected to be lifted.
This decision has led to predictions that it has significantly increased the likelihood of an acquittal on the Wirye-related charges against President Lee Jaemyung, whose trial is currently suspended. President Lee's trial on four cases, including alleged corruption in the Daejang-dong, Baekhyeon-dong, and Wirye New Town development projects and alleged illegal sponsorship to Seongnam FC, has been on hold since his election as president.
The prosecution had previously also given up appealing parts of the first-instance ruling that returned not-guilty verdicts in the Daejang-dong development corruption case, which has a structure similar to the Wirye case. At that time, suspicions arose that the investigative team's opinion in favor of appeal had not been accepted, triggering collective resistance and a public statement by chief prosecutors. In the process, the acting Prosecutor General resigned, and senior officials were reshuffled, causing a major fallout.
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