Judge Song In-kwon’s Final Jeong Gyeong-shim Trial Before Transfer to Southern District Court

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] On the afternoon of the 12th, the 4th trial session of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University was held in Courtroom 424 of the Seoul Central District Court. This was the final trial presided over by Chief Judge Song In-kwon of the Criminal Division 25 of the court. Chief Judge Song will be transferred to the Seoul Southern District Court on the 24th due to regular court personnel changes.

Chief Judge Song set this date as the last trial session during the second trial last month. This decision left open the possibility that he might leave due to court personnel changes. At that time, he said, "I may stay or be replaced, so I will not schedule any further trial dates," adding, "Until then, witness examinations will be postponed and only documentary evidence will be reviewed." It was a consideration for the succeeding judge.

This trial has been contentious and problematic from the beginning. Before the formal trial, during the preparatory hearings to organize issues and discuss trial plans, access to investigation records for review and copying was not granted, causing repeated delays. During this process, the prosecution's request to amend the indictment related to Professor Jeong's forgery of a certificate was denied, leading to an unprecedented incident where the prosecution openly defied the presiding judge in court. Later, when the prosecution re-indicted Professor Jeong with a revised indictment, controversy arose over double prosecution.

Even after moving to formal trial sessions, the proceedings were not smooth. There were scenes where the presiding judge and the prosecution, as well as the prosecution and defense attorneys, raised their voices at each other. Due to frequent conflicts, rumors circulated inside and outside the court that if Chief Judge Song remained in his position after the personnel changes, the prosecution would consider filing a motion to disqualify the trial panel. However, with the decision to transfer Chief Judge Song, the prosecution no longer needed to take such action.

The successor judge has not yet been decided. The decision will be made at the Judges' Work Allocation Committee meeting at the Seoul Central District Court next week. Regardless of which judge takes over, it is expected that the trial will proceed in a more moderate atmosphere than before. Although the prosecution has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction, citing "biased trials," it is possible that the prosecution will remain quiet in future proceedings.

For now, the prosecution submitted a written opinion to the court the day before, requesting the consolidation of Professor Jeong's case with that of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. This consolidation request was previously rejected when Chief Judge Song was presiding. The prosecution has argued that since a significant portion of the charges related to admission fraud overlap as co-conspirators between former Minister Cho and Professor Jeong, the two cases should be consolidated for prompt trial.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.