As the investigation into Kim Man-bae (57), a private operator of Daejang-dong development, who tried an extreme choice, resumed on the 6th, the investigation of the 'Daejang-dong body suspicion', which had been at a standstill for a while, is expected to speed up.
Mr. Kim appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office today (6th) around 9:54 am in a black coat.
He went up to the interrogation room without answering reporters' questions about his health.
It has been 23 days since I tried an extreme choice on the 14th of last month.
Prosecutors have begun to re-investigate all sorts of suspicions surrounding the development of Daejang-dong against Mr. Kim.
The first thing to check is that 42.8 billion won of the profits from the Daejang-dong project, which Cheonhwa Dongin No. 1 was allotted, was donated to Lee Jae-myeong, former head of the political coordination office at the Democratic Party's representative office, Jeong Jin-sang, former vice president of the Democratic Research Institute, and former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation's planning headquarters director Yoo Dong-gyu. It is what you promised to provide.
Head Jeon Yu and private businessmen Nam Wook and Jung Young-hak testified to the prosecution that they had set aside a hidden share in Cheonhwa Dongin No.
It is said that they promised to share some of the profits from the development of Daejang-dong in exchange for various conveniences in the process of establishing the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and the development of Daejang-dong.
Based on their statements, the prosecution applied charges of promising 42.8 billion won in bribes to the criminal facts of former chief Jeong and former vice director Kim.
However, Mr. Kim consistently maintained the position of 'there was a fact that he said he would give 42.8 billion won, but this was only a remark to appease the former general manager, and there was no actual intention to pay' in the prosecution's investigation before the attempt to select the extreme.
Mr. Kim claims that the real owner of Cheonhwa-dong No. 1 is himself, not Lee, and the last piece of the puzzle is missing from the prosecution's view that profits from private businessmen in Daejang-dong flowed to CEO Lee.
The use of the profits from the Daejang-dong business he tried to conceal is also a point the prosecution pays attention to.
Suspicions related to the so-called '5 billion club', which mentions former Seongnam city councilor Kang Kang-gu, former special prosecutor Park Young-soo, and Hong Seon-geun, chairman of the Money Today Media Group, are also part of the investigation.
The prosecution looked for various means to open his mouth, seeing that Mr. Kim did not state the truth in order to protect his 'loyalty' and money with Lee's side.
The sudden arrest and trial of Hwacheon Daeyu co-CEO Lee Han-seong and director Choi Woo-hyang (former vice chairman of Ssangbangul Group), who are close to Kim, on charges of concealing the profits from Daejang-dong development are interpreted as an attempt to pressure him.
In fact, Mr. Kim was emotionally burdened by the news of the arrest of his aides and tried to make an extreme choice in his car on the 14th of last month, the day after these aides were arrested.
Prosecutors plan to further investigate Kim as he led the blacksmithing business or concealment of profits, and further indict him on charges of violating the Anti-Corruption Act, concealing criminal proceeds, and offering bribes.
In the legal world, as Mr. Kim attempted an extreme choice once, there is a prospect that the prosecution will sooner or later take action to secure new recruits for his 'safety'.
The prosecution is discussing a plan to request an arrest warrant for the alleged concealment of criminal proceeds, or a plan to request additional arrest from the court hearing the case of Mr. Kim, who has already been indicted.
This is because if the prosecution secures Mr. Kim's identity, it could be another pressure to elicit statements related to Lee's side from him.