Senior Judge Kim, suspected of receiving bribes under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, is attending a suspect examination prior to detention (warrant hearing) held at the Seoul Central District Court on the 23rd. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) requested an arrest warrant on the 18th for the senior judge, for whom evidence emerged that he received money and valuables worth tens of millions of won from a regional law firm lawyer and provided favors in court. [Yonhap News] 

An arrest warrant has been denied for a sitting judge suspected of receiving money and valuables worth tens of millions of won from a regional law firm lawyer and providing favors in court.

On the 23rd, Senior Judge Kim Jin-man of the Seoul Central District Court, who is in charge of warrants, conducted suspect examinations prior to detention (warrant hearings) for Senior Judge Kim and lawyer Jeong, and subsequently denied both warrants citing "insufficient explanation of the main contributions."

Previously, the Investigation Division 2 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Su-hwan) of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) had requested arrest warrants for them on charges of bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and offering bribes, respectively.

Senior Judge Kim is accused of receiving money and valuables worth 3.7 million won, including cash, his son's first birthday gold ring, and his wife's perfume, from lawyer Jeong, his high school alumnus, while working at the Jeonju District Court from 2023 to 2025.

He is also accused of receiving the free use of a building owned by a company in which lawyer Jeong and others are shareholders, for his wife's violin studio. The CIO estimates the total value of money and valuables received, including the benefit of free rent, to be in the tens of millions of won.

Senior Judge Attends Warrant Review for 'Judicial Trading Suspicion' [Yonhap News] 

During the warrant review on this day, the CIO reportedly argued that Senior Judge Kim received these funds in exchange for handing down lighter sentences in the appeals of approximately 20 cases handled by lawyer Jeong, compared to the first trial rulings.

Senior Judge Kim has denied all charges. In a statement previously released, he had protested, stating, "The CIO has requested an arrest warrant based on charges that have been unreasonably constructed through the distortion of evidence due to an unreasonable and illegal investigation."

Given that the court deemed the evidence for the charges insufficient, analysis suggests that the CIO's future investigation will inevitably face setbacks.