'No Guilty Verdict Again in Appeal Trial for Former Chief Judge Im Seong-geun on Charges of Trial Interference'

Former Chief Judge Im Seong-geun, who is accused of abusing judicial administrative power to interfere in trials, is attending the appellate court sentencing hearing held on the afternoon of the 12th at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Former Chief Judge Im Seong-geun was acquitted again on the 12th in the appellate court. He had been prosecuted and tried on charges of interfering in frontline trials during the tenure of former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae.

The Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Park Yeon-wook) on the afternoon of the same day acquitted former Chief Judge Im, who was charged with abuse of authority, just as in the first trial. The court stated, "The facts of the indictment do not constitute proof of a crime, so the original court's ruling of acquittal is appropriate," and added, "The prosecution's appeal is dismissed."

Former Chief Judge Im was prosecuted for intervening in the trial of the Seoul bureau chief of the Japanese Sankei Shimbun, who was charged with defamation of former President Park Geun-hye in 2015 while serving as the senior criminal chief judge at the Seoul Central District Court. The first trial court acknowledged that "former Chief Judge Im's interference in the trial infringed on judicial independence," but ruled that "legally, the crime of abuse of authority is not established," and acquitted him.

Meanwhile, former Chief Judge Im is undergoing impeachment proceedings at the Constitutional Court related to these trial charges. The appellate court's ruling on this day is expected to influence the Constitutional Court's final decision in the future.

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