Judicial Research and Training Institute Classmate to Oversee Trial of Judge Ji Gwi-yeon Over Alcohol Treating Suspicions

The trial of Senior Judge Ji Gwi-yeon of the Seoul Northern District Court, who was indicted on suspicions of receiving alcohol entertainment, has been assigned to a judge who is a classmate from the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

The Seoul Central District Court assigned the case regarding Judge Ji's violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act to Judge Park Kang-gyun of Criminal Division 4, who handles corruption cases.

Judge Park is in the 31st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, the same class as Judge Ji.

Being training institute classmates does not in itself constitute grounds for disqualification or recusal, but recusal is possible if there are concerns that the judge may not conduct an impartial trial.

Judge Ji was indicted without detention on charges of receiving approximately 1.36 million won worth of entertainment per occasion—having two lawyers pay an alcohol bill worth about 4.09 million won at a reservation-only bar in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, around August 2023.

The Improper Solicitation and Graft Act stipulates that public officials who receive money, valuables, or entertainment exceeding 1 million won at one time from the same person shall be punished regardless of whether there is a connection to their duties or a quid pro quo.

Considering that the providers of the entertainment were lawyers, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) also investigated whether there was a quid pro quo nature, but did not apply bribery charges based on factors such as the absence of cases handled by those lawyers in Judge Ji's division at the time.

The suspicions surrounding Judge Ji arose in May of last year when Democratic Party lawmakers claimed that Judge Ji had received alcohol entertainment from persons related to his duties at a bar in Gangnam, Seoul.

The CIO received a complaint from civic groups and launched an investigation in the same month, indicting Judge Ji without detention on the 4th, about 1 year and 4 months later.

Judge Ji presided over the first-instance trial of the insurrection mastermind charges against former President Yoon Suk Yeol as the presiding judge of Criminal Settlement Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court, and sentenced former President Yoon to life imprisonment.

He subsequently moved to the Seoul Northern District Court during the regular personnel reshuffle in February of this year.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.