Im Jongheon Withdraws Judge Recusal Request... Trial Panel Changed Due to Court Personnel Reassignment

Im Jong-heon, former Deputy Director of the Court Administration Office, who is accused of 'judicial farming,' is attending a trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 29th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Former Deputy Chief of the Court Administration Office Lim Jong-heon, who was indicted in connection with the 'judicial farming' scandal, has withdrawn his request for recusal of the judge.

According to the legal community on the 21st, Lim's attorney submitted a withdrawal of the recusal request to the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 33 (Presiding Judge Noh Ho-sung) on the 21st.

This was due to the complete replacement of the trial panel that Lim's side had objected to, following the regular court personnel reshuffle and the redistribution of cases at the Seoul Central District Court this month.

Since being brought to trial in November 2018, Lim has been undergoing the first trial under the supervision of Presiding Judge Yoon Jong-seop of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 36. Judge Yoon, who presided over Criminal Divisions 32 and 36, handled the abuse of authority charges against former and current judges including Lee Min-geol, Lee Gyu-jin, Shim Sang-cheol, and Bang Chang-hyun, and delivered the first guilty verdict in the judicial farming scandal.

In June 2019, Lim's side filed a recusal request, claiming that the trial was conducted with a strong prejudice akin to a misguided belief or sense of mission to punish the defendant at all costs, but the Supreme Court ultimately rejected it in January of the following year. After about ten months, the trial resumed, but conflicts continued between Lim's side and the trial panel. Eventually, Lim filed another recusal request in August last year.

This month, Judge Yoon left the Seoul Central District Court, and Presiding Judges Kim Hyun-soon (50, 29th class), Jo Seung-woo (48, 30th class), and Bang Yoon-seop (47, 30th class) formed a collegial panel to take over the case. Lim's trial, which had been halted for the past six months, is expected to resume soon.

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