Yoo Dong-gyu, the former head of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation's planning division, did not appear in the trial of Daejang-dong, saying that he could not recover his health after trying to make an extreme choice in the detention center.
Yoo's lawyer said at the hearing held at the hearing of the 22nd Criminal Settlement Court of the Seoul Central District Court, "The defendant took a sleeping pill and tried extreme choices, and was treated at the hospital emergency room, but he did not recover and could not attend."
The defense attorney added, "At the time of the interview yesterday, the accused came out in a wheelchair and his health was not so good that it was difficult to have a conversation."
The lawyer said yesterday that Yoo tried to make an extreme choice by taking 50 sleeping pills at the detention center early in the morning, leaving a will to apologize to his common-law spouse and children.
The Ministry of Justice took Yoo to the hospital, but explained that there were no abnormalities in his health.
The Ministry of Justice later went through additional verification procedures and explained that it was not true that "Mr. Dong-gyu Yoo took a large amount of sleeping pills and made an extreme choice."
The court separated the pleadings against Yoo and proceeded with the scheduled witness interrogation.