Kim Man-bae Who Tried to Go to the Barber Shop... Supreme Court: "Permission from Supreme Court Justice Required"

Kim Man-bae, the largest shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, who has been suspected of receiving special favors during the development process of Daejang-dong in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do / Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Suspicion is growing over the explanation given by Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, following the Supreme Court's stance that outsiders must obtain permission from the Supreme Court Justice's office to visit. Previously, Kim stated, "I only visited to go to the barbershop inside the Supreme Court building, and listing 'Justice Kwon Soon-il's office' as the visit location was merely a formality."

The Court Administration Office responded to a related inquiry from Jeon Ju-hye of the People Power Party, saying, "Employees in charge of Supreme Court access generally confirm the scheduled visit with the Justice's office before proceeding with entry procedures." Article 7, Paragraph 2 of the internal regulations on Supreme Court building access stipulates that when visiting Supreme Court offices, not including certain departments like the civil affairs office, entry is only permitted if the relevant department or employee grants permission.

According to previously disclosed Supreme Court access records, Kim, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, visited the Supreme Court nine times from July 16, 2019, to August 21 of last year, and on eight of those occasions, he listed the visit location as "Justice Kwon Soon-il's office." According to the Supreme Court's explanation, this means that during those eight visits, Kim should have obtained permission from former Justice Kwon or his office.

It has been confirmed that Kim also visited former Justice Kwon just before the case involving Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's violation of the Public Official Election Act was referred to the Supreme Court's full bench and the day after the Supreme Court acquitted him. Consequently, opposition parties are raising suspicions of a "judicial deal."

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