Park Youngsoo's Daughter Denies "Daejang-dong Apartment Allocation Favoritism" Charges in Court

Former Hwacheon Daeyu CEO Lee Seongmun Admits to the Charges

The daughter of former Special Prosecutor Park Youngsoo, who has been put on trial for allegedly receiving preferential treatment in the allocation of an apartment in Daejang-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, denied the charges at her first court hearing.

Youngsoo Park, former special prosecutor. Photo by Yonhap News

On August 27, Choi Jiyeon, the sole criminal judge of Division 9 at the Seoul Central District Court, held the first trial for Ms. Park, the daughter of the former special prosecutor, and Lee Seongmun, former CEO of Hwacheon Daeyu, who were indicted on charges of violating the Housing Act. Park's legal representatives stated, “We acknowledge that she worked at Hwacheon Daeyu as a resettlement coordinator and drafted an apartment sale contract. However, we deny the remainder of the indictment, including the allegation that she failed to meet the requirements or conditions for resident selection.” The legal representative for the defendant corporation, Hwacheon Daeyu, also denied the charges, saying, “There was no fraudulent supply of housing to Ms. Park or others.”

In contrast, the defense for former CEO Lee admitted to the charges.

Ms. Park is alleged to have, in June 2021, received an 84-square-meter Daejang-dong apartment owned by Hwacheon Daeyu from former CEO Lee without a public lottery process, and at about half the market price. At the time, she is said to have failed to meet the residency requirements needed to qualify for the allocation. Investigators found that the profit she made from the difference in market value amounted to approximately 800 million won.

Former CEO Lee is accused of knowingly and arbitrarily allocating the apartment to Ms. Park, even though she did not satisfy the residency requirements.

Previously, in May, prosecutors filed a summary indictment against Ms. Park and former CEO Lee, requesting fines of 3 million won and 5 million won, respectively. A summary indictment is a procedure in which prosecutors request the court to impose penalties such as fines solely through a written review, without a full trial. However, the court determined that a formal trial was necessary to review the case and referred it to trial.

Meanwhile, the court noted that the amount of the fines could vary based on the gains made from the unlawful housing allocation and requested submission of relevant documents such as market profit records. The next trial is scheduled for October 22.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.