Kim Man-bae arrives at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in Seoul for questioning over a corruption scandal in connection to a highly lucrative land development project, Jan. 9. Yonhap

A key culprit in a high-profile development scandal attempted to acquire two media companies a few years ago, sources said Monday.

Kim Man-bae, who is standing trial in connection with an apartment development project in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, tried to buy a private news agency in 2017 and 2018, when he was a reporter for Money Today, an online financial news service, they said.

He proposed about 13 billion won ($10.46 million) for the acquisition, but the company demanded about 30 billion won, according to the sources.

After failing to buy the news agency, he attempted to take over a newspaper specializing in legal issues in 2019 but also gave up due to differences on price, they said.

The newspaper confirmed Kim's bid but said it occurred in mid-2021, not 2019. The news agency refused to comment.

The sources said Kim also suggested the position of a senior executive in charge of legal issues at the news agency to Nam Wook, a lawyer and one of the key partners in the housing development project.

Observers said Kim wanted to own a media organization to respond to a possible controversy over his corruption-ridden business.

The prosecution is also looking into allegations he provided hundreds of millions of won to three senior journalists at three newspapers between 2019 and 2020.

Kim is the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, an asset management company at the center of the highly lucrative project.

He was indicted in 2021, along with his accomplices, on charges that include bribery, embezzlement and breach of trust.

Two close confidants of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, were also indicted late last year for taking bribes from them.

The project was launched in 2015, when Lee was the mayor of Seongnam. (Yonhap)