Police raid Uiwang mayor’s home and office over ‘2 billion won Moomin Park construction project’

[Financial News] Police have launched a coercive investigation into Uiwang Mayor Kim Seong-je in connection with the development of Moomin Park in the Baegun Valley Urban Development Project district in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi Province.
The National Police Agency’s dedicated team investigating cases handed over by the three special counsel probes said it had been searching the residence of Mayor Kim and the mayor’s office at Uiwang City Hall since 8 a.m. on the 8th.
The searches were conducted in connection with construction to install facilities at Moomin Park, a project worth about 2 billion won. Police did not disclose specific details of the allegations, citing the ongoing investigation.
The matter had previously come to light during an investigation by the Special Prosecutor for Kim Keon-hee, amid allegations that Jeon Seong-bae, known as ‘Geomjin Bopsa,’ had solicited and brokered the project. The special prosecutor determined that Jeon introduced Mayor Kim to Contents LAB Company, a firm associated with Moomin characters, and received money in return for facilitating the project.
Jeon was indicted while in custody last September on charges of receiving about 167 million won between 2022 and 2023 in connection with related solicitation and brokerage. After the charges of receiving money and other offenses were found proven, the Supreme Court finalized his five-year prison sentence in July.
During the special prosecutor’s investigation, indications also emerged that Mayor Kim had instructed officials to consider developing a park using Moomin characters. Uiwang-si reportedly drew up a Moomin-related benchmarking plan in December 2022 and conducted a site visit before signing a business agreement with the company.
Moomin Park was built on a site of about 24,000 square meters around Baegun Lake in Uiwang-si and opened in November 2023. The project cost of about 2 billion won was paid by shareholder companies of Baegun PFV, the developer of the Baegun Valley project, and the park was built under a donation-and-transfer arrangement.
Mayor Kim has maintained that he had no personal relationship with Jeon and that no improper solicitation was involved in the project. He has said the city publicly reviewed the company’s proposal and carried out the project through a private donation-and-transfer arrangement, rather than using the city budget.

[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter