The biggest shareholder of an asset management firm at the center of the Seongnam land development scandal has dismissed his dereliction of duty charges, claiming that he only followed orders to support projects pursued by then-mayor Lee Jae-myung.

Kim Man-bae denied any wrongdoing during an initial hearing for the trial of Yoo Dong-kyu, the former acting chief of the Seongnam Development Corporation, and others on Monday.

Kim's lawyer said the seven clauses, which Kim and others are accused of revising early on in the project to guarantee huge profits for private investors, were in line with the policy direction of and orders from the city government at the time.

The lawyer said the massive profits made by the private investors were the outcome of high-risk investment, and not a dereliction of duty. 

Yoo and Nam Wook, a lawyer implicated in the scandal, also denied colluding with Kim, while reiterating that the charge does not stand. Apologizing for causing controversy, all three men expressed hope for the truth to be unveiled.

Prosecutors suspect that Yoo and others colluded with Kim to allow the asset firm and its seven affiliates to rake in about 183 billion won in profits. Kim and Nam are also suspected of bribing Yoo with company funds.