A Seoul court began deliberating Wednesday on a second request by prosecutors for an arrest warrant for a key figure in the Seongnam land development scandal. 

The Seoul Central District Court began deliberations for Kim Man-bae, the largest shareholder of the asset management firm Hwacheon Daeyu, who’s been charged with bribery, embezzlement and breach of trust. 

This came 20 days after the Seoul court denied the prosecution's first request, citing insufficient grounds for arrest. A decision is likely to come as early as Wednesday night.

Before entering the courthouse, Kim said he will provide a thorough explanation while denying all the allegations against him. 

Prosecutors suspect that Kim promised 70 billion won in payoffs to Yoo Dong-gyu, the former acting president of Seongnam Development Corporation, in return for favors in the development project and gave him 500 million won. 

They also believe that Kim conspired with Yoo and others so that Hwacheon Daeyu would reap profits of at least 65 billion won from the project and cause losses of that amount to the city-run developer.