Bribery hearing circles around Lee Jae-myung's role in land scandal

Politics

Published: 25 Oct. 2022, 19:01

Bribery hearing circles around Lee Jae-myung's role in land scandal

Yoo Dong-kyu, former acting president of the Seongnam Development Corporation, is surrounded by reporters as he enters the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, Monday for a hearing in a bribery trial. [NEWS1]

Yoo Dong-kyu, a key figure in the Daejang-dong scandal, said he felt "betrayed" by people he considered allies following a hearing in a trial of five people accused of taking bribes in the 2015 land development project.

The attorney for Yoo, one of the five defendants, mentioned Democratic Party (DP) chief Lee Jae-myung several times during the hearing Monday at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul.

Yoo's attorney asked accountant Jeong Young-hak, another defendant, several times to confirm whether the Seongnam mayor at the time — Lee Jae-myung — was the ultimate decision maker in the Daejang-dong project. Jeong responded, "I understand now that it was an order coming from above." He said he hadn't been aware at the time.

"I felt betrayed by those who called me brothers," Yoo, former acting president of the Seongnam Development Corporation, told the press after the hearing ended Monday.

He appeared to be referring to other people involved in the Daejang-dong scandal abandoned him when he was indicted for his role in the affair.

The Daejang-dong land development scandal centers on allegations that an obscure and small private asset management company, Hwacheon Daeyu, and its affiliates reaped exponential profits from the 2015 project, which was during Lee's time as Seongnam's mayor.

Yoo was indicted last October for allegedly taking a bribe from Kim Man-bae, the largest stakeholder in Hwacheon Daeyu. Indicted later were Kim Man-bae, lawyer Nam Wook, Jeong Min-yong, a lawyer who once served as the head of the Seongnam Development Corporation's strategic project team, and Jeong Young-hak, owner of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 5, an affiliate of Hwacheon Daeyu.

In January, the Seoul Central District Court held its first hearing in the trial of the five.

Prosecutors believe Yoo helped Hwacheon earn outsized profits from the development project in collusion with the other individuals, causing over 180 billion won in damages to the Seongnam Development Corporation. This is allegedly in violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. Yoo is also accused of taking bribes from Kim, Nam and Jeong Young-hak.

Yoo generally has been loyal to these figures, but Monday's hearing showed a change of heart since his release from pre-trial detention last Thursday. The latest hearing is the 59th in the trial.

Yoo recently told prosecutors that he gave 800 million won to Kim Yong, deputy head of the Institute for Democracy think tank and DP chief Lee's close ally, who was arrested Saturday for allegedly taking illegal funds suspected to have been used in Lee's presidential primary race.

"There was a lot I was mistaken about," Yoo told reporters leaving the courtroom Monday. "I guess we are able to see the truth when we face difficult times."

He said that he thought of the other defendants as his "real brothers" but came to realize during his past year in jail that "people are the scariest things."

Yoo said there was "no reason" for him to remain loyal anymore.

"My mind is at peace now," he said. "I will only speak the truth going forward."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]