Key figures convicted in the Daejang-dong development corruption scandal requested acquittal in their appeals trial, claiming coercive evidence examination during the first trial.
At the first appeals hearing on the 13th before the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 6-3 (Presiding Judges Min Dal-ki, Kim Jong-woo, and Park Jeong-je), private developers including Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management major shareholder Kim Man-bae, attorney Nam Wook, accountant Jeong Young-hak, and attorney Jeong Min-yong denied all charges.
Kim's defense team stated, "This case was political from the start, and despite requiring strict judgment, the lower court relied on testimony from Yoo Dong-gyu, who has been behaving like a political YouTuber." They added, "The court should consider that Yoo has strong incentive to make false statements to reduce his sentence, as he has been investigated as a defendant or witness in multiple cases including this one."
Nam's defense claimed the first trial conducted coercive witness examinations and evidence reviews against accountant Jeong and others. Both Jeong the accountant and Jeong the attorney also argued that the guilty verdicts against them were unlawful.
Former Seongnam Development Corporation Planning Division Chief Yoo Dong-gyu, who was indicted alongside the others, acknowledged the breach of duty charges but denied receiving 300 million won from attorney Nam.
The defendants face charges of drafting bid guidelines favoring Hwacheon Daeyu, where Kim is the major shareholder, and manipulating the selection process so the Seongnam-ui-tteul consortium including Hwacheon Daeyu would be chosen as the preferred bidder, causing 489.5 billion won in damages to Seongnam Development Corporation.
On October 31 last year, the first trial court sentenced Kim to eight years in prison with 42.8 billion won in forfeitures. Attorney Nam and accountant Jeong received four years and five years respectively. Former Division Chief Yoo was sentenced to eight years in prison, 400 million won in fines, and 810 million won in forfeitures. Attorney Jeong received six years, 3.8 billion won in fines, and 3.722 billion won in forfeitures. The court found them guilty of occupational breach of duty but acquitted them of aggravated breach of duty under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
As prosecutors waived their right to appeal, charges acquitted in the first trial will not be reviewed in the appeals court. The forfeiture amount is now capped at the 42.8 billion won imposed on Kim.