Who is Judge Won Jeong-sook who dismissed Lee Jae-yong's arrest warrant after a '15-hour review'?

Seoul Central District Court's Second Female Judge in Charge of Warrants
Gains Attention for Issuing Arrest Warrant for Telegram 'Baksa Bang' Jo Joo-bin

Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, who is suspected of illegal management succession, is leaving the courtroom after completing the detention hearing (warrant review) held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu on the 8th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] The detention hearing for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong (52), who is accused of illegally intervening in the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries for management succession, was presided over by Won Jeongsuk (46), the warrant-specialized chief judge at the Seoul Central District Court.

Chief Judge Won is the second female warrant-specialized judge in the history of the Seoul Central District Court. She was assigned this case through a random computerized allocation system among the four warrant-specialized judges at the court.

Born in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, Chief Judge Won graduated from Gumi Girls' High School and Kyungpook National University, and passed the 40th judicial examination in 1998. After being appointed as a judge at Daegu District Court in 2001, she served at Incheon District Court Bucheon Branch, Seoul Family Court, Seoul Central District Court, and Seoul Eastern District Court before being assigned to the Seoul Central District Court in February this year.

This is the first time in nine years since Judge Lee Suk-yeon (52) in 2011 that a woman has served as a warrant-specialized judge at the Seoul Central District Court, the largest court in the country.

In March, Chief Judge Won drew media attention by issuing an arrest warrant for Jo Joo-bin (24), the operator of the Telegram 'Doctor's Room' who distributed paid female sexual exploitation materials via messenger.

At that time, Chief Judge Won explained the reason for issuing the warrant, stating, "The matter is serious, there is concern for harm to the victims, the criminal charges are substantially proven, and there is a risk of evidence destruction and flight."

Meanwhile, at around 2 a.m. on the 9th, Chief Judge Won stated the reasons for dismissing the warrant for Vice Chairman Lee, saying, "There is insufficient evidence to justify the necessity and appropriateness of detaining the suspect against the principle of non-detention trial," and "The basic facts have been established, and it appears that the prosecution has already secured a considerable amount of evidence through its investigation."

Chief Judge Won made the decision to dismiss the arrest warrant for Vice Chairman Lee after a marathon review lasting about 15 hours and 30 minutes, starting at 10:30 a.m. on the previous day (the 8th).

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