In the days of former Supreme Court Chief Yang Seung-tae, three incumbent judges who had been tried for abuse of the judicial administration authority, such as leaking internal investigation records, were found not guilty at the appeal trial following the first trial. The sentence on that day was the fifth innocence condemned in relation to the’suspect of abuse of judicial administration’.
The 8th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (President Judge Lee Gyun-yong) was acquitted as in the first trial at the appeal trial of chief judges Shin Gwang-ryul, Jo Eui-yeon, and Sung Chang-ho, who were charged with leaking secrets for public affairs. The judge admitted that “there is insufficient evidence that the defendants are trying to stop the investigation in the case of’Jung Unho Gate’,” and “the other judges reported to the Chief Criminal Chief Justice Shin, as part of the report of the warrant processing, and admitted that they conspired (the crime). I can’t.” He said, “We judge the indictment itself as innocent on the premise of a contest.”
“The charge of leaking the information that the Chief Judge Shin learned as Chief Criminal Officer Lim Jong-heon, former deputy chief of the Court Administration, is only an internal act of the state agency, and does not correspond to the leakage of secrets for public affairs.” According to the usual route and procedure, he reported to the former Deputy General Manager Lim, and he used the information for that purpose.”
Judge Shin and others were charged with collecting the prosecution’s investigation situation and future plans when the’Jung Unho Gate’ case broke out while serving as the Chief Criminal Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court in 2016, and then reporting it to the court administration office. Earlier, the first trial court sentenced them innocence, saying that their organizational conspiracy was not recognized and that the leaked contents were not classified as public service secrets. Deputy Judge Shin said, “I was found not guilty, but impeachment would not be difficult” regarding the impeachment of the judges involved in Judicial Nongdan after the sentence. “Impeachment is about maintaining public office without investigating or prosecuting criminal acts. “The system to dismiss about it.”
The suspicion of abuse of judicial administration power is a suspicion that high-ranking judiciary positions, including former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, attempted illegal lobbying in the executive and legislative departments, inspected critical former and current judges, or excluded them from major positions. The investigation resulted in an arrest prosecution of the Supreme Court for the first time in the history of the constitution, and more than 10 former and current judges were handed over to the trial, but no defendants were convicted until this day.
The sentence on that day was the fifth acquittal in connection with a trial for alleged abuse of judicial administration power. Earlier on September 18 last year, former Seoul Western District Court Chief Lee Tae-jong, who was accused of leaking investigation secrets involving court officials to the court administration, was acquitted at the first trial. On February 14, last year, Deputy Judge Im Seong-geun, who was accused of intervening in the trial of former president Tatsuya Kato, former head of the Sankei Shimbun, was found acquitted at the first trial on February 14 last year. On January 13 last year, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Researcher Hae-Yong Hae-yong, who was accused of carrying out Supreme Court data without permission, was acquitted in the first trial. The three cases, which were found not guilty in the first trial, are currently under appeal.
In the future, there is a possibility that the same tone will continue in other cases of abuse of judicial administration right ahead of the sentence of first instance. On the 18th of next month, four members, including former chief executive officer Lee Min-geol of the Court Administration Department, and former chief executive Lee Gyu-jin, of the Supreme Court’s sentencing committee, who were charged with intervening in the Unified Progressive Party’s administrative litigation trial, are set to be sentenced to a first trial on the 18th of next month. The 119th first trial was held on this day in the case of former Supreme Court Chief Yang, Byeong-Dae Park, and Supreme Court Justices Go Young-han, who are accused of creating a’judgment blacklist’, which is the starting point and key of the Judicial Nongdan suspicion, and penalizing some judges.
Meanwhile, judges who are involved in the alleged abuse of judicial administration are leaving the court. According to the regular greetings of high-ranking judges released by the Supreme Court on the 28th, several judges related to the alleged abuse of judicial administration powers are retiring. In addition, Judge Lim and Judge Lee Min-geol did not wish to be reappointed, and their terms of office expire at the end of February. It is known that the judicial Nongdan involvement will be included in the retirement list of judges under the head of the district court announced on the 3rd of next month.
[홍혜진 기자 / 류영욱 기자]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]