Five Defendants Begin Daejang-dong Appeal at Seoul High Court as Prosecutors Withdraw Their Appeal

Five defendants in the ongoing Daejang-dong development scandal appeared at the Seoul High Court for the first appellate hearing, marking the start of the appeal for Kim Man-bae, Yoo Dong-gyu, Nam Wook, Jeong Young-hak, and Jeong Min-yong. They face mostly the same charges that were upheld in the first trial, but prosecutors have withdrawn their appeal, narrowing the appellate scope to the convictions already entered.

In the first trial, Yoo Dong-gyu and Kim Man-bae were each sentenced to eight years in prison. Jeong Young-hak, the accountant, received six years, while Jeong Min-yong and Nam Wook were sentenced to five and four years, respectively. The court found that the losses to Seongnam Urban Development Corporation could not be calculated, and therefore acquitted them of a key breach-of-trust offense under the specific economic crimes law. The alleged leaks of internal information and violations of the anti-conflict-of-interest law were also deemed unproven or time-barred, resulting in acquittals on those points.

During the appellate hearing, each defendant was allotted roughly 30 minutes to an hour to explain the grounds of appeal. Yoo Dong-gyu’s side acknowledged responsibility for the breach-of-fiduciary-duty charge but argued that he testified consistently to reveal the full facts and acted passively under higher-ups’ direction; they insisted there is no objective evidence supporting bribery charges tied to Nam Wook’s statements.

Nam Wook’s defense contended that he was ultimately excluded from the project and that the core breach occurred at a time when he was detained, asserting that his goals diverged from Seongnam City’s final decisions. Kim Man-bae’s team challenged the credibility of Yoo Dong-gyu’s testimony used in the first trial, arguing statements had shifted with changing political circumstances and stressing that the developers did not anticipate profits of 4,000 billion won, noting that even if such profits were anticipated, they would have been speculative.

The proceedings come amid long-running public scrutiny of the Daejang-dong affair, a high-profile case that ties private developers, city officials, and a major political figure in Seongnam, a suburb south of Seoul. The case revolves around alleged inside information used to secure illicit gains worth about 7,886 billion won, with the Seongnam Development Corporation facing roughly 489.5 billion won in losses.

For international audiences, the case highlights risks and tensions around governance, corporate transparency, and the rule of law in South Korea’s public-private development projects. The outcomes can influence investor confidence, the corporate culture surrounding large urban redevelopment, and Korea’s ongoing efforts to strengthen anti-corruption and accountability in both the public and private sectors, with potential implications for foreign investment and supply-chain stability tied to Korean infrastructure projects.

Observers will watch closely as the appellate court weighs whether the first-instance verdicts should stand or be revised, particularly regarding the scope of fiduciary-duty liability and the handling of evidence that determines the legality of large-scale development profits and losses. The Daejang-dong case remains one of Korea’s most scrutinized anti-corruption disputes involving political and business leaders.