"Judge Who Released Sohn Jung-woo Should Be Disqualified from Supreme Court Nomination," Blue House Petition Surpasses 500,000 Signatures

250,000 People Agree Within 13 Hours on the Day of Petition Posting

Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Website Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Public criticism is growing against Kang Youngsoo, the senior presiding judge of the Seoul High Court, who refused the extradition of Son Jungwoo (24), the operator of the international child sexual exploitation site 'Welcome to Video,' to the United States. As of the morning of the 14th, a petition posted on the Blue House website on the 6th has garnered over 500,000 signatures. Earlier, the petition reached 250,000 participants within 13 hours on the day it was posted.

On the 6th, a petition titled "Request to revoke the qualification of Kang Youngsoo, senior presiding judge of the Seoul High Court, as a Supreme Court justice candidate" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board.

If a petition posted on the Blue House website receives more than 200,000 signatures within a month, the Blue House must issue an official response.

The petitioner stated, "Son Jungwoo, who incited and led horrific crimes, received a sentence of 1 year and 6 months," and added, "Saying that the issue can be resolved through investigation and trial within Korea is an arrogant remark only possible because the judge himself is not a child and belongs to the privileged class that will never suffer sexual exploitation in his lifetime." Judge Kang is included among the 30 candidates to succeed Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soonil, who is retiring in September.

The petitioner further urged, "Such a person who issues rulings against public opinion and basic morality cannot be considered qualified as a Supreme Court justice candidate," and called for "the revocation of his candidacy."

The Criminal Division 20 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kang Youngsoo) on the 6th denied the prosecution's request for extradition, judging that since investigations related to child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials connected to 'Welcome to Video' are still ongoing domestically, extraditing Son to the U.S. could hinder the investigation.

The court explained, "To eradicate child and adolescent pornography crimes, thorough investigations to root out consumers of pornography and members of the 'Welcome to Video' site are necessary," adding, "Only a very small number of those who downloaded pornography from 'Welcome to Video' have been identified through international cooperative investigations. If Son is extradited to the U.S., it is difficult to exclude the possibility that Korea will be unable to secure the identities of users and that the investigation will be hindered."

However, the court added, "Son and his lawyer have stated that even if he receives a heavy sentence domestically, he will accept his punishment willingly. This decision does not grant Son immunity, and he is expected to cooperate with future investigations and trials and receive appropriate punishment."

Son was arrested and indicted in March 2018 on charges of operating the internet site Welcome to Video on the dark web, which requires a special browser to access, and distributing child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials.

Son operated the site from July 2015 until his arrest. During this period, it was investigated that he distributed a total of approximately 220,000 pornographic materials to about 4,000 paid members in exchange for cryptocurrency worth hundreds of millions of won.

In the first trial, Son was sentenced to 2 years in prison with a 3-year probation, but the second trial sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months imprisonment without suspension. The sentence was finalized without appeal thereafter.

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