All 5 Daegang-dong Case Defendants to Stand Trial Without Detention

Accounting firm representative Jung Young-hak and lawyer Jung Min-yong, who were on trial for the appeal of the Daegang-dong development corruption allegations, have been granted bail by the court. The Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 6-3 accepted their bail requests on the 7th, and they were released on the same day and the following day, the 8th. This means all five defendants in the case will continue their trials without being detained.

The court's decision to grant bail to the two individuals is understood to be a measure to ensure fairness with Yoo Dong-kyu, the former division head, Kim Man-bae, and lawyer Nam Wook, who had previously been released upon the expiration of their detention periods.

Consequently, all five individuals indicted on charges including drafting the collusion guidelines related to the Daegang-dong development project and causing 489.5 billion won in losses to Seongnam City – namely accounting firm representative Jung Young-hak, lawyer Jung Min-yong, former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Division Head Yoo Dong-kyu, Kim Man-bae, and lawyer Nam Wook – are currently undergoing their appeal trials without detention.

The appeal trial began in March, and witness testimonies were heard for defendants Yoo, lawyer Nam, and accounting firm representative Jung. The first-instance court, on October 31st of last year, sentenced Yoo and Kim to 8 years in prison each, Jung to 6 years, Jung Young-hak to 5 years, and Nam to 4 years, placing them under detention at the time of sentencing.

In the first trial, charges of breach of trust were acknowledged, but charges of violating the conflict-of-interest prevention act were acquitted, resulting in a total confiscation amount of 47.3 billion won. The acquittal of some charges, including breach of trust under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, had raised questions about whether prosecutors would appeal; however, the prosecution did not file an appeal by the deadline of November 7th last year.