(LEAD) Key figure in development corruption case arrested again

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with court decision)

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- The owner of an asset management firm at the center of a high-profile development corruption scandal was arrested again Saturday, this time on charges of concealing criminal proceeds.

The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Kim Man-bae, the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, saying he poses a flight risk and might destroy evidence.

Kim is currently standing trial on breach of duty and other charges related to the scandal that centers on allegations that his firm and its affiliates were chosen as private partners for an apartment development project in the Daejang-dong district of the city of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, in 2015 and reaped huge investment profits.

The development was launched in 2015 while Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, was mayor of Seongnam. On Thursday, prosecutors sought a warrant to arrest Lee on breach of duty, conflict of interest and other charges, the first ever arrest warrant sought for the leader of a main opposition party in South Korea.

Kim, a former journalist, was previously arrested as part of an investigation into the case in late 2021 and released a year later.

But the prosecution on Tuesday sought a warrant to arrest him again on charges of stashing away 34 billion won (US$26.8 million) of proceeds from the corruption-ridden project from October 2021 to November 2022.

He is also accused of instigating the destruction and concealment of evidence by having his business partner and friend burn away his mobile phone or conceal checks so as to avoid a court order for forfeiture.

On Friday, Kim attended a court hearing on the arrest warrant, which lasted 6 hours and 40 minutes.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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