Apple News Facebook Twitter 新浪微博 Instagram YouTube Wednesday, Mar 15, 2023
Search
Archive
English>>

S. Korean prosecutors seek arrest warrants for ex-top court justices over judiciary power abuse

(Xinhua)    14:31, December 03, 2018

SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korean prosecutors sought warrants Monday to arrest two former top court justices over allegations that they were involved in a judiciary power abuse scandal believed to implicate a former Supreme Court chief justice.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office requested writs against Park Byong-dae and Ko Young-han who were interrogated by prosecutors last month, according to local media.

It was the first time in the country's history that arrest warrants were sought against former top court judges. The decision on whether to arrest them was forecast to be made Wednesday.

Park and Ko faced multiple criminal charges, including abuse of power and obstruction of justice. They both allegedly denied any wrongdoing.

Park, 61, served as the chief of the top court's administrative affairs body for two years through February 2016. He was accused of having engaged in the so-called "trial dealings," in which the Supreme Court ruled in the politically and diplomatically sensitive trials in favor of the policy directions of impeached President Park Geun-hye.

In return for it, then Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae allegedly sought to win the Park Geun-hye's approval for the establishment of a separate court of appeals, known to have been a long dream of Yang.

Ko, 63, who succeeded Park as the chief of the Supreme Court's administrative body from February 2016 to May 2017, was also charged with abusing judiciary power to intervene in the rulings by lower courts.

The trials, which were used as bargaining chips in the dealings with Park Geun-hye's Blue House, included the damages lawsuit filed by four South Korean victims against a Japanese steelmaker for their forced labor during World War II.

A South Korean high court judged in 2013 that Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. should pay 100 million won (88,000 U.S. dollars) per plaintiff in compensation for the forced labor.

However, the final ruling by the Supreme Court had been delayed amid allegations that Park's Blue House called for the delay on concern about frayed ties between Seoul and Tokyo.

The Supreme Court under a new chief justice, who was named by incumbent President Moon Jae-in, resumed hearings on the damages suit in August this year, delivering the final verdict in late October to order the Japanese steel firm to pay the 100-million-won compensation to the forced labor victims.

The highest court ruled in favor of another forced labor victims late last month, ordering Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to pay reparations of 80 million won (71,000 U.S. dollars) to 120 million won (109,000 U.S. dollars) to each of 10 victims, who were forced into labor by Japan, and a victim's family member.

Lim Jong-hun, who served as deputy chief of the top court's administrative body for two years through August last year, was put under custody and indicted by prosecutors last month for his involvement in the judicial power abuse scandal.

Prosecutors were expected to summon the former Supreme Court chief justice for questioning later this month.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Web editor: He Zhuoyan, Bianji)

Add your comment

Related reading

We Recommend

Most Read

Key Words