Prosecutors release key figure in land development scandal

Oct 21, 2021, 09:08 am

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Kim Man-bae (L), the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, and Nam Wook arrive at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul on Oct. 20, 2021./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporters Kim Hyun-goo & Heo Kyung-joon

Attention is focused on the background behind the release of lawyer Nam Wook, the key figure in the Daejang-dong land development scandal.

Many within and outside the legal circle raise the possibility of so-called ‘plea bargaining’, a plea deal between the prosecution and the defendant whereby the defendant pleads guilty to a less serious charge, or to one of the several charges, in return for the dismissal of other charges or reduction of exposure to a more lengthy sentence.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday released Nam Wook, who was detained for alleged promises of bribes and breach of trust. The investigation team said he was released because the investigation is still “incomplete.” However, many within and outside the legal community are critical of it.

Initially, the investigative team had been so focused on locating Nam’s whereabouts that they detained him upon arrival from the U.S. on Monday. Therefore, prosecutors had been widely expected to seek a formal arrest warrant for him before the emergency arrest expired Wednesday.

With Nam’s release, there are speculations that the dismissal of the arrest warrant for Kim Man-bae, the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, played a big burden on the prosecution. Many believe that the prosecutors decided to take a cautious stance as the court’s potential dismissal of the arrest warrant for Nam could hinder the investigation.

In particular, it is unusual for the prosecution to investigate a suspect for whom an arrest warrant has been issued and not to request an arrest warrant. Some speculate that there was a plea bargain between the prosecution and the lawyer, given the sudden return of the lawyer and his cooperative attitude toward the prosecution.

Plea bargaining is constitutionally guaranteed in some countries, including the United States, but there is no legal basis in Korea. Therefore, even if the prosecution keeps its promise in the form of more favorable sentence, the court is not obligated to follow it.

The fact that Nam expressed his willingness to actively participate in the prosecution’s investigation by contacting a number of media before returning to Korea is also considered to be one of the reasons behind Nam’s release. It is said that the fact that Nam revealed his face and had an interview was actually a stepping stone to dispel concerns of the escape of a fleeing, one of the reasons for issuing an arrest warrant.

“The prosecution may not request an arrest warrant if a suspect is investigated 48 hours after an arrest and shows a cooperative attitude. However, such thing does not happen often in large-scale investigations,” a senior prosecutor said. “The investigative team was perhaps not ready due to Nam’s sudden return, or there might be no clear accusations.”

Another senior prosecutor said, “I don’t think Nam would have cooperated. The prosecution must have been cautious because the arrest warrant for Kim has been dismissed.”

#prosecution #Daejang-dong #investigation