Prosecutors Notify Former Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su for Summon over 'False Explanation Suspicion'

After 3 Years and 5 Months Since Accusation by People Power Party and Civic Groups... Defendant Status

The prosecution has notified former Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su to appear for an investigation on charges of refusing to accept the resignation of former High Court Chief Judge Im Seong-geun and providing false explanations to the National Assembly.

According to the legal community on the 24th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Seung-ho) recently informed former Chief Justice Kim to undergo an investigation as a suspect. The investigation is expected to take place next month. This investigation comes 3 years and 5 months after former Chief Justice Kim was reported to the prosecution. This is the second time a former head of the judiciary has been investigated by the prosecution, following former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae, who was investigated in the 'Judicial Scandal' case.

Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo, who is scheduled to retire in September, is arriving at the Supreme Court building on August 23 ahead of his meeting with nominee Lee Kyun-yong for Chief Justice. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

On May 22, 2020, during a meeting requested by then-active Chief Judge Im, former Chief Justice Kim mentioned the possibility of the National Assembly passing an impeachment resolution and rejected the request to accept the resignation. At that time, former Chief Justice Kim told Chief Judge Im, “They are making a fuss about impeachment, so if I accept the resignation, what would the National Assembly say?” and “If I just accept the resignation today, they won’t be able to talk about impeachment. It is not appropriate to receive such criticism.”

When these facts became known, former Chief Justice Kim initially denied the allegations and submitted a written response to the National Assembly stating that “he never refused to accept the resignation for the purpose of impeachment.” However, the release of a recording containing the conversation between former Chief Justice Kim and Chief Judge Im by the latter’s side revealed this to be a false explanation.

Former Chief Justice Kim expressed regret, stating, “I apologize for responding differently from the facts based on unclear memories.” Subsequently, in February 2021, the People Power Party filed a complaint with the prosecution against former Chief Justice Kim on charges including abuse of authority, forgery and use of false official documents, and obstruction of official duties. During the Moon Jae-in administration, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation team assigned to the case only conducted written investigations of former Chief Judge Im and Kim In-gyeom, then Deputy Director of the Court Administration Office and Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court, without further investigation.

After the Yoon Seok-youl administration took office, a new investigation team resumed the investigation in August 2022 by summoning former Chief Judge Im as a witness. In July of last year, Chief Judge Kim was investigated as a suspect.