Justice Admonished for Inappropriate Meddling
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Supreme Court Justice Shin Young-chul was not given any punitive action at the court's ethics committee meeting Friday ㅡ although the panel concluded that his attempt to influence politically sensitive trials was inappropriate.
The panel concluded that a series of Shin's email correspondence with junior judges in charge of the trials of anti-U.S. beef import protesters were ``inappropriate" enough to be seen as pressure.
But the committee advised Supreme Court Chief Justice Lee Yong-hoon to hand down a verbal warning to him, instead of any disciplinary action, such as a salary cut or suspension, citing lack of guidelines on what intervention in trials actually is.
The decision does not carry any binding force, but the Chief Justice is expected to respect the decision in due course.
Prof. Choi Song-hwa, head of the commission, said at the Supreme Court in southern Seoul, ``Shin's acts of emailing junior judges to discourage them from releasing anti-U.S. beef protesters on bail and encourage them to expedite trials were apparently inappropriate. They could be seen as power abuse.''
Choi said the panel mainly took into account the content and tone of Shin's letters, recipients' reaction and how much the letters had affected relevant trials.
The commission head called on the court to set concrete guidelines to define the definition of an intervention in a trial in order to prevent a repeat.
The scandal occurred in early March as KBS, a domestic broadcaster, discovered and reported multiple emails Shin sent to some 12 junior judges who presided over trials of protestors involved in candlelight rallies against the resumption of imports of U.S. beef last year at the Seoul Central District Court.
Shin had encouraged judges to swiftly conclude the trials before the Constitutional Court ruled whether or not the law banning outdoor protests after sunset ㅡ a key article in the protester indictments ㅡ was constitutional.
The letters also included messages that could be translated as encouraging the judges to find the defendants guilty.
Following the report, the top court immediately launched a special investigation team headed by the court's administrative chief Kim Yong-dam, and questioned those allegedly involved in the scandal, including Chief Justice Lee.