The Supreme Court will conduct a hearing for an additional arrest warrant for Kim Geon-hee related to the 'patronage' scandal, following the designation of the panel and presiding justice for her appeal case.
The Supreme Court's Second Division, led by Justice Oh Kyung-mi, announced on the 22nd that it will hold the warrant hearing on the afternoon of the 27th for Kim, who has been indicted on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
This procedure follows a request from the special prosecutor's team, led by Min Joong-ki, for the court to issue a warrant before the expiration of Kim's current detention period. In contrast, Kim's legal team argues that issuing an additional warrant based on a separate case is unlawful.
Kim is currently detained while appealing charges related to three major scandals: stock manipulation involving Deutsche Motors, allegations of receiving free polling services from Myung-tae Kyun, and accepting money from the Unification Church.
Her detention period is set to expire on the 31st. If the court does not issue a ruling before the expiration or does not grant an additional warrant based on a separate case, Kim will be released and continue her trial in a non-custodial status.
On the same day, the Supreme Court assigned Kim's 'patronage' case to a panel consisting of Justices Oh Kyung-mi, Kwon Young-jun, Park Young-jae, and Kim Sung-soo, with Justice Oh serving as the presiding judge.
Her detention period is set to expire on the 31st. If the court does not issue a ruling before the expiration or does not grant an additional warrant based on a separate case, Kim will be released and continue her trial in a non-custodial status.
On the same day, the Supreme Court assigned Kim's 'patronage' case to a panel consisting of Justices Oh Kyung-mi, Kwon Young-jun, Park Young-jae, and Kim Sung-soo, with Justice Oh serving as the presiding judge.
This appeal will examine five allegations of receiving money under the pretext of requests for personnel, business, and nominations from Lee Bong-kwan, chairman of Seohui Construction, businessman Seo Seong-bin, former chief prosecutor Kim Sang-min, former National Education Commission chairman Lee Bae-yong, and Pastor Choi Jae-young.
Lower court rulings have varied. The first trial found Kim guilty on all charges and sentenced her to seven years in prison, while the second trial reduced the sentence to five years, citing insufficient evidence for the value of certain watches and artworks. The Supreme Court is expected to comprehensively review the legal validity of the second trial's ruling before making a final decision.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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