Judge who handed Yoon life sentence indicted for corruption
Summary
Anti-corruption investigators on Friday indicted Judge Jee Kui-youn over allegations that he was entertained at an expensive bar in Seoul in August 2023. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials said he violated the anti-graft law by making two lawyers pay 4.09 million won for services. Jee drew wide attention because he presided over former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection trial. Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment in February, and the case is now under appeal.
Key Facts
- The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials said Jee allegedly violated the anti-graft law by receiving services worth 4.09 million won at a bar in Cheongdam, Seoul, in August 2023.
- The law bars public officials from receiving gifts or services worth more than 1 million won at a time from the same person, regardless of whether the gift is connected to official duties.
- The CIO said it also examined a September 2024 incident at the same bar involving services worth 4.16 million won for five people, but it did not pursue that case because the threshold was not met.
- Jee’s lawyer argued that he stayed at the bar only briefly and said the two lawyers paid separately, so the amount per person did not exceed the 1 million-won limit.
- The allegations gained attention in May 2025 because Jee was presiding over Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection trial over his failed 2024 martial law bid.
Judge Jee Kui-youn / Yonhap
Anti-corruption investigators on Friday indicted a judge, known for sentencing former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life in prison, over allegations he was entertained at an expensive bar in 2023.
Judge Jee Kui-youn faces charges of violating the anti-graft law for allegedly making two lawyers pay for services worth 4.09 million won ($3,000) at a bar in Seoul's posh neighborhood of Cheongdam in August 2023, according to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).
The anti-graft law restricts public officials from receiving gifts or services exceeding 1 million won at a time from the same person regardless of any connection to their duties.
The CIO determined the lawyers effectively paid more than 1 million won per person for the gathering of three people.
The CIO said it investigated whether the services were provided in exchange for trial favors, but decided not to press bribery charges after determining the court bench that Jee belonged to did not handle the lawyers' cases at the time.
It also identified another instance when Jee was treated at the same bar in September 2024, but decided not to pursue the case as the services worth 4.16 million won for five people at the time did not meet the anti-graft law threshold.
Jee's legal representative criticized the indictment, claiming the judge had stayed at the bar only for a short period of time.
The defense counsel also argued that even if Jee had stayed the entire evening, the amount per person fell short of the 1 million-won threshold as the two lawyers separately paid at different times at the bar.
"Treating two people as the single same person is an interpretation that goes beyond the possible meaning of the legal text," Jee's lawyer said.
The case received widespread attention when the allegations surfaced in May 2025 as Jee served as the presiding judge of Yoon's insurrection trial over his failed 2024 martial law bid.
In February, the court sentenced Yoon to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of leading an insurrection through his martial law declaration. The case is currently under review at an appeals court.
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