Court ruling is a blow to the opposition leader

The Seoul Central District Court last week found Kim Yong — a former deputy of a think tank affiliated with the Democratic Party (DP) — guilty of taking bribes and illegal funds related to the Daejang-dong redevelopment scandal.

The bench concluded that the testimonies from Yoo Dong-gyu — a senior official at the Seongnam Development Corporation (SDC) involved in the Daejangdong development project orchestrated by former Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor Lee Jae-myung, current leader of the majority party — were valid given “the consistency in his testimonies which do not contradict with the objective evidence and the details in the memory of handing over the political funds.”

The court’s judgment on the validity of Yoo’s testimonies was critical due to the ramifications on the separate trials on DP Chair Lee. Given the court’s interpretation, Lee could face a guilty verdict in his coming first trial on his implication in the far-reaching development scandal.

The court sentenced Kim to five years in jail for accepting 600 million won ($461,290) from lawyer Nam Wook and other key stakeholders of a private asset management company which reaped exponential profits from the 2015 development project awarded by then-mayor Lee. Kim had denied receiving any money. But Yoo testified to the court that he had delivered the money in 2021 to then-governor Lee to help him get nominated as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2022 election after receiving the money from the lawyer at the request of Kim. Kim had asked for 2 billion won in the beginning from the 42.8 billion won set aside for Lee from the profit from the development project. Since the stakeholders had delivered the money to Lee, the claim that he had exercised favoritism in awarding the development project has gained further grounds.

Kim is one of the closest confidants of Lee. Lee denied his close relationship with Yoo, but admitted that Kim and another figure were his confidants. Kim managed Lee’s campaign before the presidential election. Lee insisted he had gained nothing from the development project, but his words are hard to believe after the testimony.

The essence of the development scandal lies with Lee. The allegations have been made more than two years ago and Lee was indicted eight months ago. But the trial on Lee has stagnated after Lee staged a hunger strike and refused to show up in court.

At this rate, a verdict from Lee’s first trial may not come out before of the parliamentary election in April next year. The court process could be protracted even up to next presidential election in 2027. The court must pick up speed because justice delayed is justice denied.