Judicial Scandal

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The prosecution has publicly summoned a sitting senior judge who did background checks on other judges. In addition, a number of current and former employees of the Foreign Affairs Ministry have been questioned on their involvement in the ongoing judicial scandal.

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Senior Judge Kim Min-soo at the Masan branch of the Changwon District Court was summoned to the prosecutors' office yesterday as a suspect.

[Soundbite] Kim Min-soo (Senior Judge, Masan branch, Changwon District Court) : "I will cooperate fully with the investigation. (Was it your decision to delete 20,000 files?)"

Senior Judge Kim wrote a background check report on other judges, including Judge Cha Sung-ahn who opposed the creation of an appellate court. Kim also drafted a document on the members of the 20th National Assembly and a review of disciplinary actions for the judge that ruled against the Supreme Court and ordered compensation for the victims of an emergency presidential decree during the Park Chung-hee dictatorship. Kim Min-soo also deleted some 24,500 files as he left the National Court Administration in February of 2017. The prosecution believes that Kim had destroyed evidence on purpose and is looking into requesting an arrest warrant. Meanwhile, the prosecution has questioned a number of Foreign Affairs Ministry employees in relation to the allegation that the court had delayed ruling on the case of Koreans forced into hard labor during the Japanese colonial period. The prosecution grilled them on what the National Court Administration and the presidential office had demanded. The prosecutors plan to question Kim Ki-choon, former chief of staff to President Park Geun-hye, who is believed to have masterminded the deal with the judicial branch.