Former Chief Justice Yang Appears in Court Avoiding Reporters... Facing 47 Criminal Charges
The first trial verdict for former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae, who has been on trial for allegations related to the ‘judicial farm scandal,’ has begun. The first trial verdict comes 4 years and 11 months after Yang was indicted. Since the prosecution charged him with more than 40 criminal counts, it is expected to take some time before the verdict is announced.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 35-1 (Presiding Judges Lee Jong-min, Lim Jeong-taek, Min So-young) is conducting the verdict on the 26th for former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae, who was indicted on charges including abuse of authority, along with Park Byung-dae, former head of the Court Administration Office during Yang’s judicial tenure, and former Justice Ko Young-han.
Former Chief Justice Yang arrived at the court around 1:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the trial began, entering through a different entrance than the one where the press was waiting.
Earlier, in the sentencing hearing held in September last year, the prosecution requested a 7-year prison sentence for former Chief Justice Yang. They also asked the court to sentence former Justice Park and former Justice Ko to 5 years and 4 years in prison, respectively. When the prosecution indicted Yang in February 2019, the indictment spanned 296 pages on A4 paper and contained 47 criminal charges.
According to the prosecution, former Chief Justice Yang is accused of intervening in trials such as the forced labor re-supreme court case during the Japanese occupation, the National Intelligence Service’s interference in the presidential election case, and the lawsuit confirming the status of former Unified Progressive Party lawmakers, in order to gain support from the Blue House during the Park Geun-hye administration for the introduction of the appellate court.
Yang is also accused of creating the so-called ‘judiciary blacklist’ and imposing personnel disadvantages on judges critical of judicial administration. Additionally, he is charged with leaking internal confidential information from the Constitutional Court and using it to compete for status with the Constitutional Court.
Furthermore, Yang is accused of collecting investigation secrets and interfering in warrant trials to prevent the expansion of investigations related to the ‘Jung Un-ho Gate,’ and pressuring the president of the Korean Bar Association, who opposed the introduction of the appellate court. The prosecution also believes that Yang embezzled 350 million won in slush funds from the public relations office operating expenses.
Former Justice Park faces 33 charges, most of which overlap with those against former Chief Justice Yang. These include involvement in various trial interventions and participation in the creation and execution of the judiciary blacklist. Park is also accused of accessing the criminal justice information system multiple times without authorization to check the progress of cases at the request of juniors. Former Justice Ko, who succeeded Park as head of the Court Administration Office, is charged with conspiring in 18 criminal acts including the judiciary blacklist, interference in warrant trials, and covering up judicial misconduct.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
