Nam Wook Said, "I Gave A 30 Million Won in 2010, and He Tried to Lobby Lee Jae-myung" Before the Suwon District Prosecutors in 2015

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Attorney Nam Wook heads to the courtroom to appear for a review of his warrant at the Seoul Central District Court on November 3. Yonhap News

Attorney Nam Wook (arrested), who is a key figure in the corruption allegations surrounding the development project in Daejang-dong, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi, was first arrested and questioned by prosecutors in 2015. At the time, Nam told the prosecutors that he had personally handed 30 million won to A, who once served as a mayor in the Honam region, and argued that A later tried to lobby the Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, who was the mayor of Seongnam at the time, to get approval for the Daejang-dong project.

According to the past investigation reports obtained by the Kyunghyang Shinmun on November 4, Nam was summoned and questioned by the special investigation division at the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office when he was under arrest for violating the Attorney-at-Law Act in June 2015.

During the investigation, Nam gave a statement and said, “In early 2010, I met A, a former mayor, at a pork cutlet restaurant that he owned in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si and personally handed him 30 million won in cash. A thanked me when receiving the envelope.” When the prosecutor asked the purpose of the 30 million won, the lawyer explained, “You can say that it included costs for ‘saying hello’ to the officials at the Seongnam city government.” He further elaborated, “Later in May 2010, A became an advisor at Ssisebeun (C7, a developer in the Daejang-dong project) and played the role of pressing Mayor Lee Jae-myung through people he knew to get approval for private development.” In other words, Nam claimed that A tried to lobby Lee Jae-myung after he became mayor of Seongnam to get approval for the development project. Lee, who was elected mayor of Seongnam in June 2010, had tried to promote a public development project in Daejang-dong.

Reportedly, A received a monthly salary as well as a Hyundai Equus registered to the company when serving as the advisor to C7. B, a broker who drew funds from the Busan Savings Bank to the Daejang-dong project, told the prosecutors at the time, “From what I know, A introduced Democratic Party members to C7.”

A served as a mayor in the Honam region and is currently working in a media outlet. In a phone conversation with the Kyunghyang Shinmun, A said, “I had only tried to work on a franchise business with C7 in Bundang, but I quit when things didn’t go well. I had no role in connection to the Daejang-dong project.” When asked if he received 30 million won from Nam, A said, “I met Nam once or twice, but I never received any money. I have no idea why there was such a misunderstanding.” When asked if he was questioned by the prosecutors at the time, he said, “I’m not sure.”

Lee Jae-myung delivered his position on this issue and said, “It was a long time ago and I don’t remember anything.”