Judge Ji Gwi-yeon, Indicted Over Alleged Drinks Treat, Assigned to Judicial Research and Excluded from Trials

Senior Judge Ji Gwi-yeon of the Seoul Northern District Court, who has been indicted on allegations of receiving free drinks and entertainment, has been assigned to judicial research and excluded from trial duties.

The National Court Administration of the Supreme Court issued an appointment for Judge Ji yesterday as a judicial research judge, effective from October 2 until February 21 of next year.

Judicial research is a system that allows judges to conduct research in the judicial field domestically or overseas instead of handling trials.

Judges who are indicted and face difficulties in conducting trials are sometimes assigned to judicial research.

This appointment is seen as a follow-up measure after Judge Ji was indicted last month by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) over the alleged drinks treat.

The CIO indicted Judge Ji without detention on charges of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, stating that around August 2023, he had two lawyers pay a bar bill worth 4.39 million won at a reservation-only pub in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, thereby receiving entertainment worth approximately 1.36 million won per person.

Judge Ji's legal side stated, "He briefly stopped by a gathering with junior colleagues and left immediately," adding, "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 does not exceed 1 million won."

Judge Ji previously presided over the first-trial proceedings of former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection as the presiding judge of Criminal Settlement Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court, and sentenced former President Yoon to life imprisonment in February of this year.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.