The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) summoned Jee Kui-youn, a presiding judge at the Seoul Northern District Court who is under what is being called a "drinking entertainment allegation," as a suspect for questioning. Judge Jee presided over the first trial of former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of being the ringleader of insurrection.
According to legal sources on the 11th, the CIO's Third Investigation Division (headed by Senior Prosecutor Lee Dae-hwan) questioned Judge Jee on the 7th as a suspect on charges of bribery and violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. It came about six months after the CIO secured records of Judge Jee's taxi-hailing application use in Nov. last year and launched an investigation.
The allegations surfaced when the Democratic Party of Korea released related photos in May last year. The party claimed that Judge Jee received entertainment at an adult bar in Gangnam, Seoul, with female staff, and released a photo showing Judge Jee sitting in a row with two companions.
Afterward, civic groups including Candlelight Action filed a complaint with the CIO accusing Judge Jee of bribery and violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The CIO assigned the case to the Third Investigation Division and, after obtaining a warrant from the court in Nov. last year, secured Judge Jee's taxi-hailing app usage records.
The Supreme Court's Ethics Audit Office earlier issued a determination to the effect that it is difficult to acknowledge job-relatedness in this matter. The Court Audit Committee said in Sept. last year, "Based solely on the facts confirmed so far, it is difficult to conclude that there are grounds for disciplinary action against the judge in question," adding, "We should await the results of the investigative agency's probe and, if future facts revealed constitute misconduct, handle the matter strictly."
Judge Jee handled the case charging the former president with being the ringleader of insurrection and sentenced life imprisonment at the first trial, and since Feb. this year has been serving in the Seoul Northern District Court, Civil Single Bench 6.