Photo : YONHAP News
A petition was filed accusing Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de of perverting the course of justice in connection with President Lee Jae Myung’s election law violation case on Thursday, the day legislation criminalizing such conduct took effect.
Lawyer Lee Byung-chul said the same day that he had filed the complaint against Jo and Supreme Court Justice Park Young-jae, accusing both of distorting criminal procedure when the Supreme Court overturned Lee Jae Myung’s acquittal last May.
The Supreme Court remanded Lee Jae Myung’s case to the Seoul High Court just over a month after taking it up, and before his election as president, raising questions about whether the process had been intentionally rushed.
Lee Byung-chul argued that Jo had knowingly disregarded the principle of written proceedings in the case with the intent to harm the defendant’s rights.
New legislation that took effect earlier in the day establishes a new criminal offense, enabling judges and prosecutors to be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if they knowingly misapply legal principles.