The Supreme Court has been found to have illegally paid cash bonuses totaling 1.3 billion won to justices and the head of the court's administrative office over four years, according to an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection.
On August 31, the Board announced the results of its 'regular audit of the Supreme Court,' identifying 12 instances of illegal and improper actions, prompting notifications and requests for caution.
According to the audit, the court's administrative office regularly paid cash bonuses without legal grounds, in violation of regulations. From April 2022 to 2024, an average of 2 million won per month was paid to each of the 12 justices, in addition to a separate monthly allowance of 5.12 million won. The head of the administrative office also received 3 million won in cash each month during the same period.
The Board noted, "From May 2024 to September 2025, the payment dates and amounts varied for each justice, making it appear as if they were not receiving a fixed monthly amount. However, in 2024, the annual payment amounts were similar for each justice," it added.
The total amount of bonuses paid reached 1.299 billion won. The Board stated, "While the administrative office handled the payments, they were effectively made by the Chief Justice."
In response, the administrative office explained to the Board that the bonuses were intended to recognize the efforts of justices and research judges involved in cases before the Supreme Court's divisions or full court sessions.
Additionally, the Chief Justice's security and protocol team received monthly payments ranging from 1.5 million to 2.8 million won, while the Chief Justice himself did not receive any bonuses.
The administrative office also entered into a maintenance contract for computer equipment, requiring an operating system upgrade, but later claimed that the verbal agreement differed from the contract, resulting in an additional payment of 650 million won for the upgrade.
Furthermore, when purchasing computer equipment, the office failed to accurately assess the required quantities, leading to an increase in purchase amounts to exhaust the budget after contract prices were lowered.
As a result, by the end of last year, only one-third of the authorized PCs, totaling 6,131 units, were in use, along with 2,983 printers and 559 scanners kept as spares.
During the audit of operational expenses from 2022 to 2025, it was found that the administrative office purchased over 100 million won worth of wine without clearly specifying its intended use.
Instances of excessive payments to officials for travel expenses during auction case processing and cases where contracts were signed after receiving goods without prior agreements were also identified.
Additionally, the Board recommended that measures be taken to make the court's practical guidelines accessible to the public to enhance the convenience of citizens involved in 'pro se' litigation.
This audit was finalized on August 20, following on-site inspections conducted in November and December of last year and subsequent exchanges of opinions regarding the identified issues.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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