Prosecutors: Vice Mayor Yang Asked for Six Billion Won

Public prosecutors have uncovered that Vice Mayor II for the Administrative Affairs of Seoul Yang Yoon-jae (56), for whom a arrest warrant was requested for the charge of receiving hundreds of millions of won from real estate developers as bribes for solicitation in relation to the restoration project of Cheonggyecheon, had previously demanded six billion won from these developers.

On May 8, at the review of legality for warrant of Vice Mayor Yang held due to the inquiry of Judge Wei In-gyu from plea agreement department 24 of the Seoul Central District Court, Seoul Supreme Prosecutors’ Office special investigation Division One (chief prosecutor: Yoo Jae-man) asserted this fact. However Vice Mayor Yang entirely denied the prosecutors’ assertion.

The prosecutors pressed Vice Mayor Yang by asking, “Did you not say to Mr. Gil, the CEO of a real estate development business, last February ‘Shouldn’t you give me about six billion won since you will earn enormous gains through the restoration project?’”

Whereupon Vice Mayor Yang contradicted, saying, “It is a misinterpretation of the utterance to another person that the Cheonggyecheon development idea had a six billion won value.”

The prosecutors have requested a warrant for Vice Mayor Yang on May 7.

The prosecutors believe that quite a few public officers of the city of Seoul other than Vice Mayor Yang are either directly or indirectly involved in this case, and they plan to expand the investigation to the entire Cheonggyecheon restoration project.

woogija@donga.com