A sitting senior judge accused of accepting money and favors from a local law firm attorney and granting favorable treatment in trials has avoided arrest.
Kim Jin-man, a warrant judge at the Seoul Central District Court, on the 23rd dismissed arrest warrants for a judge surnamed Kim and an attorney surnamed Jeong after a pretrial detention hearing. The reason cited for dismissal was insufficient substantiation regarding the main part of the alleged offer.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) believes Judge Kim, while serving at the Jeonju District Court from 2023 to 2025, received cash, a first-birthday ring for a son, a spouse's perfume, and other items worth 3.7 million won from Attorney Jeong, a high school alumnus.
It also assessed that if the benefit of using a building owned by a company in which Attorney Jeong and others are shareholders free of charge as a violin studio for the spouse is added, the total amount received would reach tens of millions of won. In return, the CIO believes Kim handled appeals in more than 20 cases taken by Jeong and imposed lighter sentences than at first instance.
Accordingly, the CIO sought arrest warrants on charges of accepting and offering bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
However, Judge Kim maintains that the allegations themselves are not true. Through a statement, Judge Kim said, "The CIO conducted an overreaching and unlawful investigation, distorted evidence, and sought arrest warrants based on forcibly constructed allegations."
However, with the court finding the substantiation of the allegations lacking, the CIO's investigation is expected to face setbacks.