‘Judicial Manipulation Allegations’ Former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae’s First Trial Verdict Hearing Ongoing for Over 4 Hours

Presiding Judge: "The Indictment Spans Over 300 Pages... Likely to Exceed Working Hours"

The first trial verdict hearing for former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae, related to the 'judicial farming scandal' allegations, is unusually ongoing for the fourth hour.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 35-1 (Presiding Judges Lee Jong-min, Lim Jeong-taek, Min So-young) has been delivering the verdict since 2 p.m. on the 26th for former Chief Justice Yang, who was indicted on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, along with former Court Administration Office heads Park Byung-dae and Go Young-han, who served during Yang Seung-tae’s judiciary.

Before explaining the detailed reasons for the verdict, the court announced that the trial would continue past working hours (6 p.m.).

Presiding Judge Lee Jong-min said, "The indictment is about 300 pages long. Therefore, explaining the reasons for the verdict alone is expected to take a considerable amount of time," adding, "It is uncertain whether the verdict will be completed during working hours. Please understand that there may be recess breaks."

The court spent over two hours explaining its judgments on the defense’s claims of violation of the indictment principle and the admissibility of evidence, followed by explanations of the charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights. After concluding the explanation regarding the allegation of interference in the trial related to the preservation order of the remaining assets of the Unified Progressive Party, the presiding judge took a 10-minute recess starting around 4:10 p.m. and then resumed reading.

So far, the court has made judgments on charges related to cases such as the lawsuit for damages by victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period, the notification of non-union status to the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, the National Intelligence Service’s interference in the presidential election, and the lawsuit confirming the status of former Unified Progressive Party lawmakers.