▲ Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung holds a meeting at the Central Party in Yeouido, Seoul on the 18th. ⓒNewsis
Prosecutors are reported to have confirmed that the representative of a real estate agency that was in charge of the sale of apartments in 5 districts in Daejang-dong handed 4.3 billion won to lawyer Nam Wook, the owner of Cheonhwa-dongin 4, and others. Prosecutors are said to have secured a statement that some of this money was “used for the re-election campaign of Seongnam Mayor at the time of Lee Jae-myung.”
As a result, the prosecution’s investigation into the Daejang-dong development allegation, which has actually entered the process of finalizing the arrest and indictment of Hwacheon Daeyu’s major shareholder Kim Man-bae and lawyer Nam Wook, is expected to enter a new phase.
Confirmation of delivery of 4.3 billion won through account details of Park Young-soo’s relative’s aunt
According to the Chosun Ilbo on the 19th, the investigation team of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office confirmed that 4.3 billion won was transferred from Mr. Lee to lawyer Nam and Mr. Kim through the account details of Mr. It is known that Lee put the cash in a shopping bag and delivered it to lawyer Nam or other people, or transferred the money to an account close to Kim.
Lee is a relative of former special prosecutor Park, who served as an advisor to Hwacheon Daeyu, and is suspected of preferential treatment by monopolizing the sale of apartments in five districts in Daejang-dong.
Regarding the 4.3 billion won, the prosecution said, “I understand that the money given before the local election in June 2014 was used for the cost of the re-election campaign of Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung at the time, and the money transferred after that was used for lobbying for permission for the Daejang-dong project.” The Chosun Ilbo reported that
Prosecutors are said to be investigating whether the money was handed over to the Seongnam mayor candidate’s camp at the time of Lee Jae-myung or to political and related figures.
Yoo Dong-gyu, Lee Jae-myung pay attention to how Seongnam pottery went out and re-entered when Lee Jae-myung was re-elected
Prosecutors pay attention to the fact that former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation’s planning division head Dong-gyu Yoo left the construction in April 2014 ahead of the local election and joined the then Seongnam mayor candidate Lee Jae-myung camp, and then re-joined the construction company in July of the same year after Lee was elected mayor. is known to do
Former general manager Yoo is said to have already had a close relationship with the ‘Daejang-dong gang’, receiving 325 million won from lawyer Nam between April and August 2013. According to the indictment of Mr. Yoo written by the prosecution, Mr. Yoo promised to lawyer Nam in March 2013, “If there is something that cannot be bought (Daejang-dong), I will solve it.”
In this situation, Seongnam City signed an agreement to entrust the Daejang-dong development project with Seongnam Urban Development Corporation three months before the 2014 local elections. For this reason, some say that the mayor of Seongnam Lee Jae-myung at the time would have desperately needed the help of the mayor of Daejang-dong to continue the project in the private-public joint development method originally designed by the Daejang-dong gang.
However, it is known that the prosecution has not been able to confirm whether the 4.3 billion won Lee handed over was delivered to Yoo.
Jae-myung Lee “It’s nonsense, groundless”… Nam-wook, Kim Man-bae “It’s not a lobby fee”
Lawyer Nam and Mr. Kim are said to have completely denied the allegations, saying that the money was “used for business expenses, not for the lobby.” Candidate Lee’s side told the Chosun Ilbo about this, “It’s a nonsensical story that comes out every election season, and it’s completely unfounded.”
However, there is an observation that it is highly probable that a part of the 4.3 billion won Lee gave was actually used for various licensing lobbying in Daejang-dong.
An official from the prosecution told the Chosun Ilbo, “We cannot rule out the possibility that there may have been an unknown lobbying against Seongnam City, Seongnam City Council, or current passport officials.” Prosecutors called Lee for two days in a row on the 17th and 18th, and conducted a reinforcement investigation in this regard.
Lee told the Chosun Ilbo, “It is true that 4.3 billion won was delivered to a male lawyer, and at the time of delivery, I did not know exactly how the money was used.”
Attorney Nam said that he did not respond to the Chosun Ilbo’s request for an explanation.
In the legal circle, it is analyzed that the prosecution’s investigation will have no choice but to go to the ‘upper line’ again with the statement related to this 4.3 billion won.
The Daejang-dong investigation team arrested Kim on the 4th, but it is known that the investigation on Lee’s side was completed by handing over Kim and others to trial ahead of the arrest period on the 22nd. Although it was pointed out that it was possible to apply the ‘breach of trust’ to this candidate, the investigation team, which could not secure solid evidence, actually gave up the ‘superior’ investigation.
Prosecutor’s Office “Used for Lee Jae-myung’s Election” statement, further investigation inevitable
In addition, as Kim did not respond to the summons of the prosecution for health reasons, and seven people including the chief prosecutor of the Daejang-dong investigation team were confirmed positive for Corona 19, investigations related to Daejang-dong remained at a standstill until the beginning of this week. Afterwards, on the 17th, the investigation team seemed to speed up the investigation, such as raiding the residence of former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do.
However, additional investigation is expected to be inevitable as it is confirmed that some of the 4.3 billion won delivered to the Daejang-dong party was used to support Lee Jae-myung’s re-election for Seongnam Mayor.
A lawyer who was a former chief judge of the Seoul High Court said in a phone call, “As long as we have secured the statement, the prosecution has no choice but to verify it.”
Lawyer Lee said, “As for the prosecution, everyone is saying that the higher-ranking candidate is Lee Jae-myung, but he was rather unfavorable without confirming it.”
“If the prosecution decides to cover up the matter in this situation, the prosecution will die and the candidate will also die,” the lawyer said. added.
“Naturally, the investigation will proceed to the special prosecutor.”
Attorney Kim Jong-min, who served as the head of the Gwangju District Prosecutor’s Office, Suncheon Branch, said, “Now, the snowball has rolled and has become an unbearable large lump.”
Lawyer Kim said, “In this situation, the prosecution has no choice but to go forward,” but “However, the prosecution does not seem to have the will to investigate, so I think the investigation will naturally pass to the special prosecutor.”
In relation to this testimony, lawyer Kim explained, “Now, the people involved in the Daejang-dong allegation have to rob them of something, otherwise they would have thought that we would die.”
