The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials said it has indicted a sitting chief judge accused of taking tens of millions of won in bribes from a lawyer who was a high school alumnus and providing favors tied to trials.
The agency’s Investigation Division 2, led by Chief Prosecutor Kim Su-hwan, said Tuesday it indicted Chief Judge Kim, identified only by his surname, and attorney Jeong on charges including bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and giving bribes. Both were indicted without detention.
The agency said Kim, who served as presiding judge of criminal appeals at the Jeonju District Court from 2023 to 2025, is suspected of receiving about 33 million won in money and valuables in return for reducing sentences in cases handled by Jeong, a senior alumnus from the same high school.
Investigators said Kim handled 21 appeals cases taken by Jeong’s law firm and reduced sentences in 17 of them. They said that in six cases decided after March 2024 — when the alleged bribes were received — Kim also overturned the lower-court rulings.
In one case, a defendant caught repeatedly driving drunk while on probation had a five-month prison sentence reduced on appeal to a 5 million won fine, the agency said. In another, a defendant involved in operating an illegal sports gambling site received a suspended sentence after getting a prison term in the lower court.
The agency also said Kim received additional benefits, including the free use for one year of a commercial space intended for his spouse’s violin lessons, and had Jeong cover costs for soundproofing and other construction for the lessons. Investigators said they also found an additional 3 million won bribe provided in the form of items such as boxes of nuts.
The agency said it confirmed through recorded visitation audio and other materials that word of the alleged arrangement spread inside and outside prisons, leading to a surge of case requests to Jeong’s law firm.
The agency said it sought to indict the two in March, but the court rejected the request, citing insufficient explanation regarding the alleged bribe-giving. It later proceeded with indictments without detention.
A CIO official said the agency uncovered evidence that a sitting chief judge took bribes from a defense lawyer in cases he was handling, using the trials as the channel. The official said the agency would continue to deal strictly, under law and principle, with corruption that undermines trust in the judiciary.
Kim’s side denied any quid pro quo.
In a statement, Kim’s attorneys criticized the agency for announcing the indictment, saying the court had found the allegations insufficient during the warrant review process and that the agency indicted him without additional investigation and with claims they said were not true.
They said Kim had cooperated with the investigation and that the allegations of receiving money and a quid pro quo were all false. They said he received no benefit related to the commercial space, and that the 3 million won was lesson fees paid to his spouse for 31 violin lessons provided to the lawyer’s child. They said there was “absolutely” no trial deal.
They said Kim would fully participate in the court process to establish the truth and urged that unnecessary misunderstandings not spread.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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