Prosecution Ends Public Inspection of Investigation Petition Against Judge Park Byung-gon Who Sentenced Jeong Jin-seok to Prison

"Specific Allegations Not Recognized"

The prosecution closed without investigation a petition requesting an investigation into Judge Park Byung-gon (38, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 41), who sentenced People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Jin-seok to a prison term, on charges including violation of the National Security Act.

On the 6th, the Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jeong Ji-eun) announced that the petition filed against Judge Park on charges including violation of the National Security Act was closed for public inspection as the contents of the petition alone did not recognize specific charges.

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul.
Photo by Choi Seok-jin

A prosecution official stated, "When a petition is submitted, the prosecution has the obligation to receive, assign, and process it, so the petition assigned to the Criminal Division 6 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office was closed today."

Public inspection closure is a disposition that concludes a case without further investigation when it is judged that the case is mainly a simple suspicion and no appropriate legal action can be taken.

A conservative-leaning internet media outlet, 'Pen & Mike,' submitted a petition to the prosecution in August requesting an investigation into Judge Park.

The petitioner reportedly argued that based on posts Judge Park had uploaded on his blog in the past, "an investigation should be conducted to determine whether there are violations of the National Security Act and related laws."

Judge Park posted on his blog, presumably during his university student days, writings such as "Inciting regional leftist radicalization upon entering high school" and "Infiltrating the law school under orders from the underground party to pursue the red revolution of the legal community."

Judge Park, presiding judge of the Criminal Division 5 Single Judge at the Seoul Central District Court, sentenced lawmaker Jeong, who was indicted in August for defamation of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, to six months in prison. The sentence was unusually heavier than the prosecution's demand of a 5 million won fine, sparking controversy that Judge Park's political orientation influenced the verdict.

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