By Lee Kyung-min
A prosecutor-turned-judge was detained Sunday over allegations that he received bribes from a man suspected of fraud when he was a prosecutor, the prosecution said Monday.
Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it detained the 43-year-old judge, identified by his surname Choi from the Suwon District Court, without giving details.
It plans to seek an arrest warrant.
“We detained Choi because he is highly likely to destroy evidence and ask possible witnesses to give favorable testimony for him. Also, he is a flight risk,” a prosecutor said. “We also took into account that he is now emotionally unstable.”
The judge was questioned Saturday for allegedly receiving 600 million won from a 61-year-old private money lender, also surnamed Choi.
This was the first time that an incumbent judge has been questioned by prosecutors since 2006 when Cho Kwan-haeng of the Seoul High Court was also investigated for alleged involvement in a bribery scandal.
The money lender is currently on trial after the prosecution brought more than 20 charges against him, including fraud, tax evasion and harassment.
The two Chois first met in 2008 when the judge, who is now working at a district court, was a prosecutor. The judge is suspected of having dropped a case against the money lender in return for the money.
According to the prosecution, the judge received 300 million won in 2008 to pay the rent on his apartment and accepted another 300 million won the following year and invested it in stocks. The judge strongly denies the allegations, prosecutors said.
But the prosecution said it has secured evidence proving the allegations through the money lender’s former girlfriend.
Prosecutors questioned the woman and the judge together to confirm the exact dates of money deliveries.
The judge, when he was a prosecutor, allegedly ordered his staff and police officers investigating Choi to “go easy” on the money lender.
Reportedly, Choi has tendered his resignation to the Supreme Court, which refused to accept it.
“We did not accept the resignation because in doing so, any internal investigation would have to end at that point,” a source at the court said.
“We take this matter very seriously. Although Choi did not receive money in direct connection with any case he was presiding over, we acknowledge that a judge receiving a bribe itself is a serious crime.”
The Supreme Court conducted an internal investigation into him last year, but failed to discover any wrongdoings, the source said.