Former Supreme Court Justices Ko Young-han and Park Byung-dae Also Found Not Guilty on All Charges... 4 Years and 11 Months After Indictment
Former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae, who was implicated in the judicial corruption scandal, was acquitted in the first trial. Former Supreme Court Justices Ko Young-han and Park Byung-dae, who were also tried together, were acquitted as well.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 35-1 (Presiding Judges Lee Jong-min, Lim Jeong-taek, Min So-young) on the 26th acquitted former Chief Justice Yang and former Supreme Court Justices Park Byung-dae and Ko Young-han, who were indicted on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.
The court judged all 47 criminal charges listed in the indictment filed by the prosecution in February 2019 against former Chief Justice Yang to be not guilty.
Former Chief Justice Yang was prosecuted on charges of intervening in trials such as the forced labor re-appeal case during Japanese colonial rule, the National Intelligence Service’s interference in the presidential election case, and the lawsuit confirming the status of former Unified Progressive Party lawmakers, in an attempt to gain support from the Blue House during the Park Geun-hye administration for introducing the appellate court.
Yang was also accused of creating the so-called ‘judiciary blacklist’ and imposing personnel disadvantages on judges critical of judicial administration. Additionally, he was charged with leaking internal confidential information from the Constitutional Court and using it to compete for status against the Constitutional Court.
Furthermore, Yang was accused of collecting investigation secrets and interfering in warrant trials to prevent the expansion of the investigation related to the ‘Jung Un-ho Gate,’ as well as pressuring the president of the Korean Bar Association, who opposed the introduction of the appellate court. The prosecution also judged that Yang embezzled 350 million won in slush funds from the public relations office’s operating expenses.
Former Justice Park faced 33 charges, most of which overlapped with those against former Chief Justice Yang. These included intervening in various trials and participating in the creation and execution of the judiciary blacklist. Park was also accused of accessing the criminal justice information system multiple times without authorization to check the progress of cases at the request of juniors. Ko, who succeeded Park as head of the Court Administration Office, was charged with conspiring in 18 criminal acts including the judiciary blacklist, interference in warrant trials, and covering up judicial misconduct.
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