Supreme Court condemns 'interference' over judges named in martial law arrest list

Judge who acquitted opposition leader included in martial law arrest list

By KTimes

The Supreme Court condemned reports that a sitting judge who acquitted Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was included in the military's arrest list during the Dec. 3 martial law fiasco. The court described it as a severe infringement on judicial authority.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Supreme Court said, "Reports have emerged that during the declaration of martial law, the military intended to arrest a sitting judge who had acquitted the opposition leader in a specific trial. If true, this constitutes a direct and grave violation of judicial independence, raising serious concerns."

The court continued, "Such actions should never occur in a constitutional democracy, and the facts must be urgently clarified with those responsible held legally accountable."

According to sources contacted by the Hankook Ilbo, Yeo In-hyung, former chief of military counterintelligence, called Cho Ji-ho, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, on the night of Dec. 3, providing a list of about 15 individuals for location tracking.

Yeo allegedly told Cho that the tracking was necessary to facilitate arrests. The list included major political figures such as Lee, ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik.

When Cho asked about an unfamiliar name, "Kim Dong-hyun," Yeo replied, "The judge who acquitted Lee Jae-myung."

Kim acquitted Lee on Nov. 25 of perjury instigation charges, a decision that defied widespread legal predictions favoring a guilty verdict. In his ruling, Kim said, "The evidence presented by the prosecution is insufficient to prove that Lee had the intent to instigate perjury."

Former National Intelligence Service Deputy Director Hong Jang-won previously revealed that Yeo’s arrest list, shared shortly after the martial law declaration, also included Kim Myung-soo, a former Supreme Court chief justice and Kwon Soon-il, a former Supreme Court justice.

The Supreme Court's administrative office director Chun Dae-yeop, addressing the issue at a National Assembly judiciary committee meeting on Dec. 6, said, "If this is true, it is an incomprehensible and highly inappropriate action."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.