Former journalist sentenced to 30 months in Daejang-dong case

Social Affairs

Published: 14 Feb. 2024, 14:34 Updated: 14 Feb. 2024, 17:15

Former journalist sentenced to 30 months in Daejang-dong case

Former journalist Kim Man-bae makes a statement in front of the Suwon District Court in Gyeonggi on Wednesday after the court sentenced him to 30 months in prison. [YONHAP]

The court sentenced Kim Man-bae, a former journalist, to 30 months for bribing a local politician to assist with a property development project in Seongnam.

The Daejang-dong development project, along with the Baekhyeon-dong development project, is one of the controversial scandals for which Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is currently on trial.

The Suwon District Court on Wednesday convicted Kim of bribing Choi Yoon-gil, former Seongnam city council chairman, with 80 million won and promising an additional 4 billion won as performance-based bonus.

The court sentenced the former councilman to more than 4 years in prison and ordered restitution of 80 million won from the criminal proceeds.

The court, concluding that most of the accusations against the defendants to be true, stated it had no choice but to impose a prison sentence on the defendant as they persist in denying their criminal acts and showing no remorse.

The judge emphasized that the councilman, entrusted to serve the public interest and the welfare of local residents, had undermined the credibility of public officials by colluding with private developers.

"Urban development projects should have been conducted with fairness," the judge said.

According to the sentence, Kim bribed the city councilman to pass an ordinance allowing the establishment of the Seongnam Development Corporation (SDC), which played a pivotal role in the Daejang-dong scandal, in 2013.

Subsequently, the councilman joined the real estate management company that Kim had founded, Hwacheon Daeyu, as vice chairman, with an annual salary of 100 million won and a performance-based bonus of 4 billion won.

However, neither Kim nor the councilman was taken to prison after sentencing, as the court cited no flight risks.

The court's practice of arresting defendants after prison sentencing has been altered, with the Supreme Court's Judicial Administration Office revising its guidelines in 2021.

Previously, the court would imprison a defendant unless there were special circumstances to the contrary. The guideline was changed three years ago, with the court now arresting the defendant only if there is a clear necessity to do so.

Former Seongnam city councilman Choi Yoon-gil leaves the Suwon District Court in Gyeonggi onWednesday after the court had sentenced him to more than 4 years in prison. [YONHAP]

Following the sentencing, Kim continued to deny the accusations against him.

"I have never solicited favors from Choi," Kim stated. He also mentioned that Choi was hired at his real estate management company due to delays in the project itself.

The prosecution requested the court to sentence Kim to four years, while the former councilman was recommended to receive five years.
The sentencing comes two years after Kim was indicted.

The DP chief Lee is accused of playing a central role as Seongnam’s mayor and later Gyeonggi governor in approving the development project and orchestrating it to yield massive profits for private developers led by Kim.

Lee served as the city’s mayor from 2010 to 2018 and as Gyeonggi governor from 2018 to 2021.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]