CIO Summons Chief Judge Ji Guiyeon for First Questioning Over 'Room Salon Entertainment Allegations'

About Six Months After Launching Compulsory Investigation Last Year

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has summoned Ji Guiyeon, Chief Judge at Seoul Northern District Court, for questioning in connection with the so-called “room salon entertainment allegations.” Chief Judge Ji is the judge who delivered the first-instance ruling in the insurrection case against former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

No Jongmyeon, member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is revealing photos related to allegations of “room salon entertainment” involving Judge Ji Guiyeon, Chief Judge of Seoul Central District Court, at the central party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 19th. The Democratic Party's Central Election Committee stated on the same day that "Judge Ji denied entering the room salon itself in connection with the entertainment allegations," and announced the decision to disclose the photos regarding this matter. 2025.5.19 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

According to the legal community on May 11, the CIO summoned Chief Judge Ji on May 7 as a suspect on charges of bribery and violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. This comes approximately six months after the agency began a compulsory investigation at the end of November last year.

Previously, in May last year, the Democratic Party of Korea claimed that Chief Judge Ji had been entertained at a room salon with female staff, and released a photo showing Chief Judge Ji sitting side by side with two companions at a venue believed to be a bar in Gangnam, Seoul.

Subsequently, civic groups such as Candlelight Action filed a series of reports to the CIO accusing Chief Judge Ji of bribery and violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The CIO assigned the case to Investigation Division 3 (headed by Senior Prosecutor Lee Daehwan), and in November last year, executed a search and seizure warrant issued by the court for Chief Judge Ji’s taxi application records.

When the allegations first emerged, Chief Judge Ji denied them, stating that they were not true. Before the fourth hearing in the insurrection trial against former President Yoon last year, he said, “The allegations are not true, and I have never even considered being entertained at such a place. Above all, these are different times. There is not even anyone who would buy pork belly and soju for someone else.”

In September last year, the Supreme Court’s Ethics Audit Office reported the results of its internal review, stating, “Based on the facts confirmed so far, it is difficult to recognize any connection to official duties.”

Since February of this year, Chief Judge Ji has been serving in the Civil Division 6, Seoul Northern District Court.

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