Judges Shin Gwang-ryeol, Jo Ui-yeon, and Sung Chang-ho under 'Judicial Scandal' Suspicion... What is the Supreme Court's Decision?

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court will deliver its final judgment on the current judges prosecuted over allegations of 'judicial farming' during the tenure of former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae. They have been accused of leaking warrant requests and investigation records submitted to the court during the 2016 'Jung Un-ho Gate' to the Court Administration Office.

According to the legal community on the 25th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Cheon Dae-yeop) will hold the appellate trial sentencing hearing this morning for former Seoul Central District Court Chief Criminal Judge Shin Gwang-ryeol and former warrant-specialized division chiefs Jo Ui-yeon and Seong Chang-ho, who were indicted for leaking official secrets.

They are accused of collecting information on the prosecution's investigation status and future plans through warrant case records to obstruct investigations targeting judges during the 'Jung Un-ho Gate' and reporting this to former Deputy Chief of the Court Administration Office Lim Jong-heon. At the time of the incident, Judge Shin was the Chief Criminal Judge at Seoul Central District Court, and Judges Jo and Seong were warrant-specialized judges. The prosecution viewed that they leaked investigation secrets systematically under the direction of the Court Administration Office to prevent the expansion of investigations into the judiciary.

However, both the first and second trials acquitted them. The first trial stated, "When corruption involving current and former judges surfaced, former Chief Judge Shin requested detailed reports from Judges Jo and Seong, who responded accordingly, but it is difficult to recognize that the defendants conspired in advance to leak information obtained through warrant trials to the outside."

The second trial also acquitted them, stating, "Former Chief Judge Shin reported to former Deputy Chief Lim through normal channels and procedures, and former Deputy Chief Lim used the information for appropriate purposes."

Meanwhile, including former Chief Judge Shin and the other two, a total of 14 current and former judges have been indicted in connection with the judicial farming allegations. Former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae and former Deputy Chief Lim are undergoing first trial proceedings, while most of the other current and former judges, including former Judge Lim Seong-geun, who became the first judge in constitutional history to face impeachment proceedings, and former Seoul Western District Court Chief Lee Tae-jong, who was accused of leaking warrant contents, have been acquitted up to the second trial.

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