Court questions key figure in development corruption scandal

A Seoul court questioned the owner of an asset management firm at the center of an urban development corruption scandal Wednesday to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant for him on bribery and other charges.

Kim Man-bae, owner of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, is facing charges of breach of trust and bribery in connection with a 2015 project to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south of Seoul, into apartment complexes.

Prosecutors have been looking into suspicions over how the previously unheard-of asset management company and its seven affiliates were chosen as private partners for the lucrative project and reaped astronomical profits.

Prosecutors believe Kim and the others colluded with Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp., in manipulating the public bidding procedure in favor of Hwacheon Daeyu to eventually have it picked as the private partner and allow it to reap profits of 65.1 billion won ($55.1 million).

It was the second time an arrest warrant has been sought for Kim. The earlier warrant was sought last month, but a Seoul court rejected the request, citing insufficient grounds for his arrest.

After arriving at the Seoul Central District Court, Kim denied all charges against him, claiming that his firm joined the project in accordance with relevant policies set by Seongnam City.

The court was also scheduled to question two other key suspects in the scandal later in the day, including Nam Wook, a lawyer and another private partner, to determine whether to issue arrest warrants for them as well.

The court is expected to decide whether to issue warrants for them as early as Wednesday night.

The scandal has received intense media coverage amid questions about its potential impact on next year's presidential election, as the project was launched when the ruling Democratic Party's presidential nominee, Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, was mayor of Seongnam.

The main opposition People Power Party has claimed Lee was behind the whole scheme.

Lee has apologized for what he described as "appointing the wrong people" but has rejected all allegations raised against him. (Yonhap)