Supreme Court justice denies any link to Daejang-dong development scandal

Cho Jae-youn, the Minister of National Court Administration, answers questions during a Legislation and Judiciary Committee Conference, Feb. 17, 2021. Hankook Ilbo

Supreme Court Justice Cho Jae-youn categorically denied Wednesday any link to a massive development scandal following a newspaper report that a central figure in the scandal promised him a luxury house.

Cho made the comment during a press conference after the Hankook Ilbo daily reported last week that Kim Man-bae, the owner of an asset firm at the center of the scandal, said he promised a house worth about 5 billion won ($4.2 million) to an incumbent Supreme Court justice.

It was the first time a sitting Supreme Court justice has held a press conference.

The scandal centers on revelations that Kim's little-known asset management company, Hwacheon Daeyu, reaped astronomical profits from its investment in an apartment development project in Seongnam's Daejang district in 2015. (Yonhap)