10 years after ‘Jung Un-ho Gate’ in 2016
Newsis
[파이낸셜뉴스] A sitting judge who is suspected of engaging in ‘trial transactions’, including receiving bribes from the defendant’s lawyer, faces a crossroads in his arrest. It is the first time in 10 years that a suspect is interrogated (warrant substantive examination) before the arrest of a sitting chief judge.
According to the legal community on the 23rd, Chief Judge Kim Jin-man, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, will conduct a pre-arrest interrogation of Chief Judge A, who is suspected of receiving bribes under the Aggravated Punishment for Specific Economic Crimes Act, at 3 p.m. on this day.
Chief Judge A is accused of receiving cash and luxury perfume in return for sentencing a light sentence in a case taken on by Attorney B, a high school classmate.
These two are high school seniors and juniors, and it is said that they became close friends after Chief Judge A moved to the district court where the incident occurred in 2023.
The Corruption Investigation Office believes that Chief Judge A took the appellate case accepted by Attorney B for the next 1 to 2 years and made a ‘trial transaction’ by reducing the sentence handed down in the first trial.
The Corruption Investigation Office is also investigating the circumstances in which Chief Judge A rented a portion of a building owned by Attorney B free of charge for one year and used it as a violin lesson center for his wife. Accordingly, on the 18th, an arrest warrant was requested for Chief Judge A.
Chief Judge A’s position is that in the case of money or valuables exchanged, it was a simple gift based on friendship without any compensation related to the job.
Chief Judge B told reporters on the 20th, “I express deep regret for requesting an arrest warrant based on falsely distorted evidence and unreasonably constructed charges.”
In response to this, the Corruption Investigation Office countered, “The evidence and related materials secured by the Corruption Investigation Office were collected in an objective and legal manner based on warrants issued by the court on several occasions,” adding, “In particular, the request for an arrest warrant was not a simple suspicion raising, but was made based on sufficient evidence and comprehensive consideration of the explanation of the criminal charges and the seriousness of the case.”
This is the first time in 10 years that an arrest warrant has been requested for a sitting judge on charges of receiving bribes in connection with his duties since former Chief Judge Kim Soo-cheon, who was involved in the ‘Jung Un-ho Gate’ in 2016.
kyu0705@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Dong-gyu
※ Copyright ⓒ Financial News, unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited