Chief justice hints at continuing probe into blacklist of judges

The Supreme Court of Korea

By Kim Se-jeong

Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su hinted Wednesday he would continue the search for a blacklist of judges, which a special committee failed to find.

“I will complement the investigation results and will form a new body to discuss where to go from here,” Kim said in a statement. “As the court has done until now, we will work our way out of this mess on our own.”

His statement came two days after the internal committee’s announcement of its investigation findings. Although it failed to confirm the alleged blacklist, it said the court’s administrative body had monitored judges who were critical of the two previous governments and their activities, for

years.

The blacklist scandal arose in early 2016. Listed judges suspected they were excluded from new appointments.

“I can imagine the shock and outrage people would feel toward the judiciary system,” Kim said, adding “It’s equally hard for me to accept that the judges were being watched.”

Acknowledging that the Office of Court Administration (OCA) was at the center of the scandal, Kim vowed to reform the OCA.

“I will review and terminate the OCA’s external affairs work,” he said. The OCA is mandated with assisting the chief justice administratively.

It’s unclear whether Kim’s statement can mend the divide created by the internal committee and its announcement Monday.

One group of judges dismissed the blacklist allegations claiming that it was groundless and a political tactic to serve the interests of the new liberal Moon Jae-in administration.

The other group claimed that although no list was found, the announcement was convincing enough to show the OCA failed to keep allow judicial independence.

Monday’s announcement has also put Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su in a difficult position.

Appointed by President Moon last year, Kim seemed sure of the existence of the blacklist and ordered, immediately after inauguration, an internal investigation into the blacklist scandal to resume. He even gave the investigation team the authority to access locked computers suspected of containing sensitive information related to the blacklist without getting consent from the owners.

Some judges were also bothered by other revelations made Monday.

The committee found traces of communications between Cheong Wa Dae and the OCA in 2014 over the handling of former National Intelligence Service chief Won Se-hoon, who was then indicted for interfering in the 2012 presidential election by ordering an online campaign against the opposition candidate.

According to the committee, “The OCA exchanged information and opinions with an outside entity (Cheong Wa Dae) about Won’s case and attempted to read the assigned judge’s views in advance.”

It also said Woo Byung-woo, then the president’s aide for civil affairs, had expressed his discontent with the guilty verdict against Won upheld by an appeals court and pressed the Supreme Court to let him go.

Several months later, the Supreme Court returned the guilty verdict to the high court, saying the evidence wasn’t enough to prove him guilty.

The thirteen judges on the court issued a statement saying, “Our decision to return the case to the lower court was an independent one. Nothing from outside the court played a role in this.”