'Trial Interference Charges' Former Chief Judge Im Seong-geun Sentenced in Appeal Today

Former Chief Judge Lim Seong-geun [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The appellate court ruling on former Chief Judge Im Seong-geun, who was indicted for intervening in frontline trials during former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae's tenure, will be announced on the 12th.

The Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Park Yeon-wook) will hold the appellate sentencing hearing for former Chief Judge Im at 2 p.m. that day. Im was indicted for intervening in the trial of the Seoul bureau chief of the Japanese Sankei Shimbun, who was charged with defamation against former President Park Geun-hye, while serving as the senior criminal presiding judge at the Seoul Central District Court in 2015. The first trial court acknowledged that "former Chief Judge Im's intervention in the trial infringed on judicial independence," but ruled that "legally, the crime of abuse of authority does not apply," and acquitted him.

During the recent appellate prosecution's closing arguments, the prosecution stated, "The damage to the judiciary's trust caused by this case is immeasurably severe," and requested a two-year prison sentence, the same as in the first trial. In his final statement, former Chief Judge Im claimed innocence, saying, "While reflecting on my past actions, I have never once forced my opinions on other trial panels during my 30 years as a judge."

Meanwhile, former Chief Judge Im is also undergoing impeachment proceedings at the Constitutional Court related to these allegations of trial intervention.

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