Yoon Seok-yeol Insurrection Case: Allegations of Courtroom Hospitality Spreading

On the 27th, Rep. Choo Mi-ae, chair of the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee, raised strong criticism against Chief Judge Ji Gwi-yeon, who is in charge of the insurrection charges against former President Yoon Seok-yeol.

Rep. Choo stated that the allegations regarding Judge Ji receiving hospitality at a room salon are "clearly subject to criminal punishment" and called for swift personnel actions from the Supreme Court.

Rep. Choo claimed on Facebook that "a whistleblower with a conscience has presented evidence that 6.5 million won was transferred for hospitality that day," adding that "there are testimonies from a fellow lawyer from the Judicial Research and Training Institute who was present at the room salon." He emphasized that receiving 6.5 million won worth of hospitality is inappropriate behavior for a public official and criticized the court for remaining silent for five months, prioritizing protecting their own.

The court has remained silent for five months, prioritizing its own.

Demands for disclosure of investigation results are spreading within the court.

The National Public Servants' Union Court Branch also issued a statement on the same day, demanding that the Supreme Court's ethics inspector "immediately disclose the results of the investigation regarding the room salon hospitality allegations."

The court union claimed that Judge Ji calculated the detention period of former President Yoon in "hours" instead of "days" and did not include the period for reviewing the legality of his arrest, stating, "The trust of the public and court members has already been lost."

This controversy emerged in May when the Democratic Party alleged that Judge Ji was hosted at a luxury room salon in Gangnam, Seoul.

At the time, the Democratic Party released a photo showing Judge Ji sitting alongside two companions but did not disclose specifics such as the costs incurred or who paid for them.

As the controversy grew, the Supreme Court's ethics inspector's office announced on May 16, "We are reviewing all possible methods to confirm the facts," stating, "If specific misconduct is confirmed, we will proceed according to relevant laws."

Chief Judge Ji Gwi-yeon: "The hospitality allegations are different from the facts."

It is reported that Judge Ji submitted a document and evidence to the ethics inspector's office stating that it was merely a social gathering and that the allegations of hospitality made by the Democratic Party are not true.

He claimed that after having dinner with junior legal professionals, whom he has known for a long time, he directly paid the bill and then briefly joined them at a junior lawyer's favorite pub before heading home, asserting that the junior lawyer paid for it.

Additionally, during the insurrection trial, Judge Ji directly denied the allegations, stating, "The accusations are not true, and I have never considered receiving hospitality like that," asserting that "no one would even buy me pork belly with soju."

A Supreme Court official stated regarding the progress of the investigation, "The situation is currently in progress by the ethics inspector’s office," without giving a specific position.

However, Cheon Dae-yeop, head of the Judicial Administration Office, mentioned the previous day at the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee meeting, "It seems that there has been a lack of objective evidence and documentation so far," but he added, "In consideration of the public's perspective, we continue the investigation to reference the ongoing results of the High-ranking Officials Crime Investigation Office."

Rep. Choo posed the question, "While there are bus drivers who have been fired for just 800 won worth of vending machine coffee, there are judges who receive 6.5 million won worth of hospitality without any issue," urging the Supreme Court for swift personnel actions in light of the constitutional spirit that everyone is equal before the law.

Image sources: Choo Mi-ae, Chair of the Judiciary Committee / News1, Ji Gwi-yeon, Chief Judge / News1, The Democratic Party released photos related to the allegations of room salon hospitality involving Ji Gwi-yeon, chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, who is in charge of the insurrection case of former President Yoon Seok-yeol. / Photo: The Democratic Party's Campaign Headquarters for Resuming Constitutional Order and Ending Insurrection.