Senior Judge Ji Gwi-yeon of the Northern Seoul District Court, who was indicted on allegations of receiving an "alcohol treat," has been relieved of trial duties.
According to the legal community, the National Court Administration of the Supreme Court has reassigned Senior Judge Ji as a judicial research judge effective tomorrow (October 2).
Judicial research is a system that allows judges to step away from trial duties and conduct research on domestic and foreign judicial systems.
Previously, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials indicted Senior Judge Ji without detention on September 4 on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act.
Senior Judge Ji is accused of receiving entertainment worth approximately 1.36 million won per person—totaling around 4.09 million won in alcohol expenses—at a reservation-only bar in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, in August 2023, paid for by two acquaintance lawyers.
At the time, a total of three people attended the drinking gathering, including Senior Judge Ji and the two lawyers.
Under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, receiving money or valuables exceeding 1 million won on a single occasion is subject to criminal punishment, regardless of whether it is related to official duties.
The CIO concluded that although the two lawyers split the bar bill, they shared the intent to entertain Senior Judge Ji together and shared the costs.
Through a statement issued the same day, Senior Judge Ji's legal side argued, "He only briefly attended the gathering with the two junior lawyers and left right away."
They added, "Even if he had remained at the gathering until the end as the CIO claims, the amount of money or valuables provided by the same person did not exceed 1 million won, meaning it legally cannot fulfill the constitutive requirements for a violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act."
They also added, "The costs of the gathering were paid for individually by the two juniors using their own funds at different times."
Meanwhile, Senior Judge Ji presided over the first-trial proceedings for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of heading an insurrection, sentencing former President Yoon to life imprisonment in February.
Following regular personnel reshuffles, he moved to the Northern Seoul District Court to handle civil damage suits related to traffic accidents and industrial accidents.
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Lee Eui-seon | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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