Prosecutors Dismiss Bribery Case Against Supreme Court Justices Over President Lee's Not-Guilty Remand

Speculative Capital Surveillance Center's 2022 Complaint
Case Closed Without Substantive Review

The prosecution has closed the case regarding allegations that Supreme Court justices who overturned President Lee Jaemyung's violation of the Public Official Election Act and remanded it for a not-guilty verdict had accepted bribes, concluding that there is no need for further investigation.

On the 9th, as the special investigation headquarters of the prosecution summoned and is investigating former Special Warfare Command Commander Kwak Junggeun, the Taegeukgi and prosecution flags are fluttering in the wind in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office building. Photo by Huh Younghan

According to legal sources on May 28, the First Anti-Corruption Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Guk Won) dismissed on May 19 the complaint filed by the civic group Speculative Capital Surveillance Center against former Supreme Court Justices Noh Jeonghee, Kwon Soonil, and Cho Jaeyeon. The complaint alleged that the three former justices accepted bribes in exchange for overturning and remanding the violation of the Public Official Election Act case involving President Lee, who was then Governor of Gyeonggi Province, in 2020.

The prosecution also dismissed related cases, including allegations that President Lee and Kim Manbae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, offered bribes and committed breach of trust and embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. A dismissal is a decision to close a case without a substantive review when the reasons for non-prosecution are clear or there is no necessity for an investigation.

In 2022, the Center filed a complaint with the prosecution against the three former justices and President Lee, claiming that the Supreme Court en banc decision to overturn and remand President Lee's appeal case for violation of the Public Official Election Act was unlawful. The group alleged that at the time, former Justice Kwon and others agreed to accept bribes from the Hwacheon Daeyu side and overturned and remanded the case with the intent of a not-guilty verdict.

President Lee was indicted on charges of disseminating false information under the Public Official Election Act after he stated during a televised debate ahead of the 2018 local elections that he had never attempted to have his older brother forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital, in response to related allegations.

President Lee was sentenced to a fine of 3 million won at the appellate court, but in July 2020, the Supreme Court en banc emphasized the importance of freedom of expression and remanded the case for a not-guilty verdict.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.