In connection with the dismissal of an arrest warrant for a sitting presiding judge suspected of receiving money and valuables in return for reduced sentences, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials said the investigation would not be significantly affected.
A CIO official said at a regular briefing on the 24th, "The investigative team believes it has verified a substantial portion of the allegations through the materials and statements it has secured." Regarding the reasons for the warrant's dismissal, the official added, "From the fragmentary reasons alone, we cannot tell whether the issue concerns facts or legal interpretation," and said, "We will confirm and review this part and then proceed to the next step."
Earlier, the CIO's Second Investigation Division (chief prosecutor Kim Su-hwan) sought arrest warrants for a judge surnamed Kim, a presiding judge, and an attorney surnamed Jeong on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribe taking and bribe offering).
Kim, the presiding judge, is suspected of receiving money and valuables worth 3.7 million won from attorney Jeong, a fellow alumnus from high school, from 2023 to 2025 while serving at the Jeonju District Court. The CIO suspects the money and valuables were in return for handing down lighter sentences than at first instance in about 20 appellate cases handled by Jeong.
Kim, the presiding judge, is also suspected of using a building owned by the side of attorney Jeong free of charge as his spouse's violin studio and of receiving money through his spouse in the name of lesson fees. The CIO believes the total amount of money and valuables received, including the benefit from the free lease, amounts to tens of millions of won.
Kim's side contends that the CIO distorted evidence in the course of conducting an overreaching and unlawful investigation and, based on those overreaching allegations, sought arrest warrants. They also argue there is no issue with receiving lesson fees because Kim's spouse actually taught violin to attorney Jeong's son.
On the previous day, Kim Jin-man, a presiding judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, conducted a pre-arrest interrogation and dismissed the arrest warrants for both the presiding judge Kim and attorney Jeong. The court cited insufficient substantiation regarding the main part of the offering as the reason for dismissal. It is interpreted to mean that whether the money and valuables deemed bribes by the CIO were actually received is unclear, or that the quid pro quo and job relevance were not sufficiently substantiated.
Launched in Jan. 2021, the CIO marks its sixth year this year. However, at the investigation stage, only two people have been taken into custody: former President Yoon Suk-yeol and former Defense Intelligence Command chief Moon Sang-ho. Excluding cases related to the martial law incident, observers say there have effectively been no detentions.