INVESTIGATION TEAM ON HWACHEONDAEYU

[Anchor Lead]

Prosecutors have set up a large investigation team to investigate an urban development scandal involving Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. The team has raided Hwacheon Daeyu and the Seongnam Development Corporation, and issued travel bans for involved figures.

[Pkg]

Prosecutors begin their raid after presenting a search warrant. They simultaneously raided the offices of the Seongnam Development Corporation, which oversaw the land development project in Daejang-dong, and Hwacheondaeyu, which managed project assets. Investigators covered the offices of lawyer Nam Wook and former Seongnam Development Corporation executive Yoo Dong-kyu, who hold the key to the scandal. Prosecutors reportedly seized various documents including the land development permit and financial papers. They also issued travel bans for key figures involved in the scandal. The investigation team in charge of the case has been expanded significantly. The team is headed by a deputy prosecutor general from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. It consists of 17 prosecutors specializing in investigating special economic and public security crimes. An accounting analysis investigator has also been included to trace the project's cash flow. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has launched the probe in line with the prosecutor general's order to investigate the land speculation scandal, which is of high public concern. The prosecutors are analyzing one of the obtained clues. An accountant involved in the scandal has submitted an audio file containing a discussion on how to distribute profits from the Daejang-dong land development project. The prosecutors will soon summon the relevant officials to find out how the project was carried out and how its profits were shared.