Court fines former Seongnam official 1 million won, considers detention in Daejang-dong case

Yoo Dong-gyu, former head of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation's Planning Headquarters, was summoned as a witness in the trial of Jeong Jin-sang, a close aide to President Lee Jae-myung and former chief of the Democratic Party of Korea's Political Coordination Office, regarding the 'Daejang-dong development corruption' case, but failed to appear. The court announced it would impose a 1 million Korean won fine for non-attendance and consider issuing a warrant for his detention.

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 33 (Presiding Judge Lee Jin-kwan) held a trial on the 5th for Jeong's cases involving corruption in the Daejang-dong, Wirye, and Baekhyeon-dong developments, as well as the Seongnam FC bribery case. The court stated, "A 1 million Korean won fine will be imposed on Yoo for non-attendance, and if his condition allows for testimony in the future, we will proceed with detention immediately." The trial, initially jointly handling President Lee and Jeong as co-defendants, was suspended for President Lee in June, with Jeong's trial continuing separately.

According to the court, Yoo's side submitted a written explanation for non-attendance dated November 20 of last month. The reason cited was, "Severe difficulty in movement due to a back injury and leg fracture, along with extreme mental shock from past testimony, making it impossible to testify," the court explained. Yoo submitted a written request stating, "While there is no intent to evade the duty to testify, the current physical and mental condition makes testimony impossible, and a rescheduling is requested."

The court noted, "The medical diagnosis shows discharge in late July with an 8-week observation and safety management period required," adding, "The observation period should have concluded by late September to October." Yoo expressed intent to testify after all other witness examinations are completed, but the prosecution stated, "As this is procedurally inappropriate, we will check the detention center regularly to confirm availability for testimony within one or two trial dates." Jeong's defense team also stated, "We hope the schedule proceeds as planned." The court plans to examine Seongnam City Hall officials as witnesses in January to February of next year and then re-summon Yoo.

Yoo Dong-gyu Fined for Skipping Corruption Trial