Choi Yun-gil, former mayor of Seongnam City, entered the Suwon District Court for a warrant substantive examination on the 18th. yunhap newsFormer Seongnam Mayor Choi Yoon-gil, who is accused of accepting money as a condition of passing the ordinance on the establishment of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, the starting point of Daejang-dong, Seongnam, has been arrested.
On the 18th, Judge Oh Dae-seok of the Suwon District Court revealed the reason for issuing an arrest warrant, saying, “The criminal charges have been clarified and the fear of destroying evidence is acknowledged.”
Former Chairman Choi played a major role in establishing Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, which became the starting point of Daejang-dong development.
In 2013, when he was the mayor of the city, he proposed the ordinance for the establishment of Seongnam Province and passed it to the plenary session of the Seongnam City Council. In return, he is accused of bribery of receiving 4 billion won in incentives from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu.
Prior to the interrogation of the suspect before the arrest, Choi said briefly, “I’m sorry” to a reporter’s question if he would admit the charges.
In November last year, the police summoned former Chairman Choi to investigate.
At the time, when the reporter asked, ‘Have you ever been provided with a vehicle in the past?’, the former Chairman Choi strongly resisted, saying, “Why is that? You are writing novels, really. No.”
Meanwhile, the police divided the scope of the investigation last year to prevent duplicate investigations with the prosecution. The police are investigating three cases, including allegations of corruption with former Chairman Choi and Seongnam City Council, and preferential treatment for apartments in Daejang-dong.
