Seongnam Development Corporation sues to recover Nam Wook’s 10 billion won nominee assets in Daejang-dong case

Seongnam Development Corporation has filed a lawsuit to recover two properties it says were placed under other people’s names to avoid liability in the Daejang-dong development case. The move follows the corporation’s successful applications for provisional measures blocking disposal of the properties.

The lawsuit targets real estate in Jeju, valued at 290 million won, and Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong, with an estimated market value of about 9.62 billion won. The corporation is seeking cancellation of the transactions under a legal procedure used to reverse transfers made to obstruct a creditor’s rights and restore the assets.

The corporation believes the assets were moved into third-party names to help Nam Wook, a private-sector participant in the Daejang-dong project, avoid responsibility for damages. It filed the main case early because such lawsuits face filing limits of one year from learning the reason for cancellation and five years from the underlying legal transaction.

Prosecutors previously indicted people involved in the development, estimating that the project caused the corporation about 489.5 billion won in losses. In October last year, a criminal trial court recognized losses to the corporation and assessed the breach-of-trust amount at about 112.8 billion won.

The corporation says it considers Nam’s side liable for at least that amount and is continuing efforts to secure assets while pursuing civil litigation. It has so far obtained provisional preservation measures covering 12 cases and 16 properties linked to Daejang-dong figures, with an estimated total value of about 100 billion won. It plans to seek additional orders and lawsuits as it identifies more nominee assets.