Supreme Court Suspends Judge for 3 Months for Soliciting Prostitution During Business Trip

"Damaging Judicial Dignity and Undermining Court Prestige"

A sitting judge was suspended for three months after being caught engaging in prostitution during a business trip.

On the 23rd, the Supreme Court announced regarding Judge Lee (42) of the Ulsan District Court, "This case constitutes damaging the dignity of a judge and undermining the court's prestige," and "We have acknowledged all the disciplinary grounds requested by the Chief Judge of the Ulsan District Court."

Judge Lee is accused of paying 150,000 won to a woman he met through a conditional meeting application at a hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, around 4 p.m. on June 22, engaging in prostitution. He has been criminally charged with violating the Act on the Punishment of Acts of Prostitution and is currently under investigation by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which has taken over the case.

The Supreme Court stated, "This incident occurred while returning home after completing judicial training," and added, "Since it does not fall under cases of unauthorized absence from the workplace without justifiable reason, but considering that he did not return home immediately and proceeded to engage in prostitution, these factors were taken into account in determining the disciplinary penalty."

According to the Judicial Disciplinary Act, Judge Lee may appeal the disciplinary action within 14 days from the date he became aware of it, and if he appeals, the Supreme Court will conduct a single-instance trial.

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