Prosecutors have decided not to appeal the acquittals of private business operators indicted in the Wirye New City development corruption case.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced Wednesday that it would not file an appeal in the Wirye development corruption case, "considering the results of legal review and the likelihood of the appeal being accepted."
With prosecutors dropping the appeal, the acquittals of the so-called "Daejang-dong gang"—including Yoo Dong-gyu, former planning director of Seongnam Development Corporation; attorney Nam Wook; and accountant Jeong Young-hak—are now final. Assets that had been seized or frozen in connection with the case are also expected to be released.
On December 28, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Lee Chun-geun) acquitted the defendants of charges under the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Act. They had been accused of obtaining 21.1 billion won ($15.3 million) in illicit profits by leaking internal information from Seongnam Development Corporation ahead of an apartment development project in Wirye New City in 2013, when President Lee Jae-myung was mayor of Seongnam.
The court found that the information obtained by the private operators during the development project constituted "confidential information" under the anti-corruption law. However, it ruled that what the defendants acquired using this information was merely their status as project participants, which was not directly linked to the "dividend profits" specified in the indictment, and thus acquitted them.
With prosecutors dropping the appeal, observers note that the currently suspended trial involving President Lee is also more likely to end in acquittal. Prosecutors had previously dropped their appeal against the first-instance acquittals in the Daejang-dong development corruption case, which involved similar defendants and an alleged scheme structure. At that time, allegations emerged that the investigation team's recommendation to appeal had been overruled, sparking strong backlash including a joint statement from senior prosecutors.
Separately, prosecutors also decided Wednesday not to appeal the case of Cho Hyun-ok, former presidential secretary for personnel affairs, who was indicted for involvement in appointing the head of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency during the Moon Jae-in administration. Prosecutors explained they decided not to appeal "considering the evidence and the likelihood of the appeal being accepted." The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 27 (Presiding Judge Woo In-sung) had acquitted Cho of abuse of authority charges last month, ruling that there was insufficient evidence that she directly intervened in the appointment.
