Kim & Chang raided in judiciary abuse probe
The offices of Kim & Chang law firm in Jongno, central Seoul / Korea Times file
By Lee Suh-yoon
Kim & Chang, the country's biggest law firm, was searched last month on suspicion of coordinating the deliberate delay of forced labor rulings by the Supreme Court with Cheong Wa Dae under the former Park Geun-hye administration, which is at the center of a growing judiciary power abuse scandal, prosecutors said Monday.
This is the first time the law firm has been raided by prosecutors. It is currently representing Japanese firms in around 10 ongoing wartime forced labor cases.
Prosecutors searched the offices of two Kim & Chang lawyers: Kwak Byung-hun, a former presidential secretary for legal affairs, and another lawyer who was identified only by his surname Han, who was assigned to represent Japanese firms in forced labor cases, Nov. 12. Kwak has already been summoned for questioning multiple times in relation to the allegation.
The files obtained from the raid show the two lawyers frequently lobbied top court officials regarding the forced labor cases, acting as the main communication channel between the National Court Administration, Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kwak was working at Cheong Wa Dae at the time of this illicit coordination between 2015 and 2016. He moved to Kim & Chang shortly afterward.
The prosecution's evidence shows Han, a former top court official who moved to Kim & Chang in 1998, met with former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae at his office multiple times to discuss wartime forced labor cases in 2015 ― just before the ministry submitted an “opinion” letter claiming forced labor rulings would negatively impact diplomatic ties between Korea and Japan.
The National Court Administration, needing a formal excuse for the delay, pressed the ministry to submit an opinion letter through Han and Kwak, prosecutors claim. President Park also allegedly ordered the ministry to submit the letter in May 2016, shortly before Japan sent 1 billion yen for a foundation to support former sex slaves, in accordance with a 2015 deal.
If the allegations are true, Yang can be charged with the unauthorized passing on of official secrets as he disclosed the Supreme Court's stance on the forced labor cases to Kim & Chang and their Japanese firm clients, which should have been kept confidential until a ruling was made.
The search added another burst of momentum to the ongoing probe into the judiciary for “trading” politically-sensitive rulings with the former Park administration in exchange for the setting up of a de facto second Supreme Court and more overseas judiciary posts.
The delayed forced labor rulings finally resumed last month, giving way to the first court victory for wartime forced labor, Oct. 30, when the top court ordered Nippon Steel to compensate four forced laborers $87,000 each.
Kim & Chang has not yet issued a formal statement regarding the allegation.
On Monday, prosecutors filed arrest warrants for two former Supreme Court justices for their involvement in the judiciary power abuse scandal.