COURT DELIBERATES ARREST WARRANT FOR KIM

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The court is deliberating whether to issue an arrest warrant for Kim Man-bae, a major shareholder of Hwacheondaeyu. Prosecutors requested the arrest warrant after confirming major charges against Kim based on statements by an accountant named Chung Young-hak. Kim’s defense counsel is expected to refute the accusations, claiming that Chung’s statement is exaggerated and false.

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​The prosecution presented the accountant Chung Young-hak’s statement as crucial evidence supporting accusations against Kim Man-bae. Prosecutors concluded that Kim had given 500 million in bribes to Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of the Seongnam Development Corporation. This is based on Chung’s remark that Yoo was originally promised 70 billion won. Lawyer Nam Wook, another key figure in the Daejang-dong Scandal who is now staying in the U.S., backed prosecutors’ conclusion, saying that he had heard Kim agree to provide 70 billion won to Yoo. Prosecutors also regard the severance pay of five billion won given to the son of Rep. Kwak Sang-do as bribes actually delivered to the lawmaker. It seems this decision is also based on accountant Chung’s mention of the so-called five-billion-won club, a list of people who received money from Kim. Previously, Rep. Kwak’s son said he had received the severance pay in recognition of his role in speeding up construction, which was delayed following a discovery of cultural relics. In order to check whether or not his explanation was true, prosecutors summoned and questioned an official of the Cultural Heritage Administration on Oct. 7. In response, Rep. Kwak Sang-do refuted the prosecutors’ claims, saying that he had never received bribes from Kim and was never involved in the businessman’s development project. Yoo Dong-gyu denied the accusations against him, dismissing the remark of 70 billion won as 'just a joke.' Kim Man-bae has been questioning the reliability of the accountant’s statement, saying the concerned parties exaggerated the amount of the share each of them had to shoulder in the process of negotiations. He is also insisting that his right to defend has been violated, as, during his questioning, he did not get to hear the recording of the accountant’s statement, which serves as key evidence against him. Therefore, prosecutors and Kim’s defense counsel are expected to stage a heated argument at an arrest warrant review hearing slated for Thursday.