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| ▲ This composite image shows file photos of Kim Man-bae (R), major shareholder of asset management firm Hwacheon Daeyu; Yoo Dong-gyu (L), former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp.; and lawyer Chung Min-yong. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) prosecutors-development scandal
(LEAD) Prosecutors seize assets of key convicts in high-profile development scandal
(ATTN: UPDATES with more info in last 5 paras)
SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors on Wednesday began to seize the assets of key convicts in a high-profile development scandal case allegedly linked to President Lee Jae Myung.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said it has started to seize vehicles, bonds and other assets registered under Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp., as well as Kim Man-bae, a major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, and lawyer Chung Min-yong.
The action follows a court ruling in October last year sentencing Kim and Yoo to eight years in prison each, and Chung to six years, along with orders to forfeit their illicit profits from a massive development project.
The scandal centers on allegations that a small number of unqualified private asset management companies, including Hwacheon Daeyu, were allowed to reap astronomical investment profits from the real estate development project in Seongnam's Daejang-dong district in 2015, when Lee was the city's mayor.
Prosecutors said they decided to proceed with the asset seizures as the defendants failed twice to comply with court forfeiture orders.
They were indicted in 2021 on charges of making 789 billion won (US$553 million) in illegal profits by designing the bid for the development project in a way that favored Hwacheon Daeyu.
The prosecutors office separately said it has decided not to appeal the court's acquittal of Yoo and others in a similar development corruption case in Seongnam's Wirye district.
Yoo and others involved in the Daejang-dong development scandal also stood trial on charges of using confidential information to earn illegal profits from the separate development project in Wirye.
Last month, a Seoul court found them not guilty, ruling that although they had obtained confidential information, it did not lead to any actual profits.
The prosecutors office on Wednesday said it considered the likelihood of an appeal being accepted when deciding not to file an appeal against the court's acquittal. The decision finalized the court's not-guilty verdict.
The result is expected to increase the chances of a not-guilty verdict for President Lee in his trial related to the Wirye development project, the proceedings of which were suspended along with three other cases.
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