The first trial proceedings for former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae and others, who were indicted on charges of 'judicial manipulation,' will conclude on the 15th. The first trial is set to reach its final stages approximately 4 years and 7 months after the indictment.
Former Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae, who is accused of being directly or indirectly involved in the 'Judicial Farming' case, is holding a press conference in front of the main gate of the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on January 11, 2019, when he appeared before the prosecution as a suspect. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
On this day, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 35-1 (Presiding Judges Lee Jong-min, Lim Jeong-taek, Min So-young) will hold the first trial sentencing hearing for former Chief Justice Yang and former Supreme Court Justices Park Byung-dae and Ko Young-han on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights. In the morning, the prosecution will present its sentencing opinion and recommended sentence to the court, and in the afternoon, the three defendants will deliver their final statements.
Previously, the prosecution indicted former Chief Justice Yang on February 11, 2019, on 47 charges including various interferences in trials, creation of a judicial blacklist, and embezzlement of slush funds. The former judicial leadership, including Yang, is accused of intervening in cases of interest to the government during the Park Geun-hye administration to gain cooperation from the Blue House and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for key projects such as the introduction of the appellate court and overseas dispatch of judges. The prosecution charged Yang and others, alleging that the Yang Seung-tae judiciary improperly intervened in lawsuits such as compensation claims by forced labor victims against Japanese war crime companies, status confirmation lawsuits of former Unified Progressive Party lawmakers, administrative lawsuits related to the National Teachers' Union (Jeon Gyo-jo) being declared illegal, and criminal trials related to former National Intelligence Service Director Won Sei-hoon's comment manipulation case.
Typically, the sentencing hearing is held about one month after the final trial hearing, but since this case involved over 270 trial sessions and extensive related content, the sentencing is expected to take place two to three months later, around the end of this year or early next year. As Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo's term ends on the 24th, the first trial sentencing will be delivered during the term of the next Chief Justice.
Meanwhile, among the 14 former and current judges indicted on charges related to judicial manipulation, only two have been convicted so far: former Planning and Coordination Officer Lee Min-geol of the Judicial Administration Office and former Standing Member Lee Gyu-jin of the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission. In the appellate trial, former Officer Lee was sentenced to a fine of 15 million won, and former Standing Member Lee received a one-year prison sentence with a two-year probation. In contrast, former Seoul High Court Chief Judge Shim Sang-chul and Presiding Judge Bang Chang-hyun, who were tried together, were acquitted in both the first and second trials. They are currently awaiting the Supreme Court's decision. The trial of former Deputy Chief of the Judicial Administration Office Lim Jong-heon is still ongoing in the first trial. Former Senior Judicial Researcher Yoo Hae-yong of the Supreme Court, former Seoul Western District Court Chief Judge Lee Tae-jong, former Presiding Judges Lim Seong-geun, Shin Gwang-ryeol, Seong Chang-ho, and Presiding Judge Jo Ui-yeon have been acquitted with final judgments.
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