A decision on whether to arrest a sitting Director General judge suspected of receiving money and favors from a local law firm attorney and granting trial favors in return will be made on the 23rd after a court hearing.
Kim Jin-man, the Seoul Central District Court warrant judge and Director General judge, will hold a pre-arrest suspect questioning for a Director General Judge Kim and an Attorney Jeong on this day to review the need for custodial investigation. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Su-hwan) previously sought arrest warrants, applying bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes to Director General Judge Kim and bribery offering under the same law to Attorney Jeong.
The CIO believes that, while serving at the Jeonju District Court from 2023 to 2025, Director General Judge Kim received money and valuables worth 3.7 million won from Attorney Jeong, a fellow alumnus from high school, including cash, a first-birthday gold ring for Kim's son, and perfume for Kim's spouse. The CIO also says that, if the benefit of using rent-free a building owned by a company in which Jeong and others are shareholders as the spouse's violin studio is added, the total value received reaches the tens of millions of won.
The CIO suspects that, in return, Director General Judge Kim provided trial favors by imposing lighter sentences on appeal than at first instance in more than 20 cases handled by Attorney Jeong. The key issue in this case is whether a sitting judge received money and favors from a case-related party through a private relationship and influenced the trials.
It is the first time in 10 years that an arrest warrant has been sought for a sitting Director General judge since former Director General Judge Kim Su-cheon, who was implicated in the "Jeong Un-ho gate" in 2016. It is also the first time since its launch in 2021 that the CIO has sought an arrest warrant for a sitting judge.
Director General Judge Kim's side flatly denies the allegations. In a statement released through counsel on the 20th, Director General Judge Kim said the CIO conducted an overreaching and unlawful investigation and then distorted evidence to construct the allegations, and added that the necessary matters would be fully explained to the court during the warrant review. The CIO countered that the investigation proceeded lawfully in accordance with the law and procedures, and that claims of unlawful investigation or evidence distortion distract from the essence of the case.
If the court issues the warrant, Director General Judge Kim would become the third person arrested by the CIO, following former Defense Intelligence Command chief Moon Sang-ho and former President Yoon Suk-yeol. The decision on whether the warrant will be issued is expected as early as late tonight.