ExclusiveCanadian extradition fight of South Korean property tycoon revealed, his fraud case unreported for years

Former developer Jung Myung-soo is accused of fleeing to Vancouver from South Korea, where he is wanted in a multimillion-dollar fraud case dating back 16 years

Jung’s extradition fight has gone unreported, even as global attention is trained on the case of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou in the same court

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South Korean developer Jung Myung-soo is seen at the unveiling of his plans for the Central City project in Surrey, British Columbia, in 2005, with Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum. At the time it was to be the biggest residential and retail development in Surrey's history. Photo: Material republished with the express permission of Vancouver Province, a division of Postmedia Network Inc

Published: 4:43am, 27 Jul 2021Updated: 7:45pm, 27 Jul 2021

A media spotlight has been trained on Meng Wanzhou’s fight in Vancouver to avoid a US trial for more than two years, but another international extradition battle involving a once high-profile business figure has been quietly playing out in the same court for even longer.

The South China Morning Post has learned that Jung Myung-soo, a former real estate tycoon behind what was one of Metro Vancouver’s biggest property developments, is wanted by his native South Korea to face multimillion-dollar allegations of fraud.

But unlike the extradition fight of Huawei Technologies executive Meng, which has drawn attention worldwide, Jung’s battle has until now gone unreported.

His case demonstrates the potential marathon nature of such proceedings, with South Korean prosecutors pursuing Jung in Canada since 2011, as a result of alleged offences dating back another six years.

The Park Place development is seen in Surrey, British Columbia. The project, formerly known as Central City, was taken over by BC developer Concord Pacific after Jung Developments sought bankruptcy protection in 2008. Photo: Ian Young

In 2005, Jung’s Central City development, involving five skyscrapers and 1,400 residential units, was hailed as a transformative project for the Vancouver satellite of Surrey by that city’s mayor, Doug McCallum.