Chief justice warns Supreme Court justice over trial intervention

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- Chief Justice Lee Yong-hoon on Wednesday issued a
warning to a Supreme Court justice over his controversial attempt to intervene in
district court trials of anti-government demonstrators last year but did not
refer him to a disciplinary committee.

Shin Young-chul, the disgraced Supreme Court justice, was referred in March to
the top court's ethics committee after an internal investigation panel concluded
that he sent a series of confidential e-mails to junior judges at the Seoul
Central District Court last fall to influence the trials of civic activists
indicted for illegal rallies against the government's resumption of U.S. beef
imports.
In the e-mails, he called for the judges to speed up the pace of the trials. The
messages came after one of the judges questioned the legitimacy of an existing
law that bans outdoor rallies after sunset and brought it to the Constitutional
Court for review. The move effectively caused the postponement of all related
cases.
Shin was serving as chief of the Seoul district court when he sent the
controversial e-mails. The ethics committee concluded that Shin's e-mails and
other acts allegedly intended to intervene in court trials constituted
"misleading and inappropriate" behavior.
"We issue a stern warning (to Shin) for engaging in inappropriate actions," Chief
Justice Lee said in a letter addressed to Shin.
"It is regrettable that Shin's behaviors have brought distress on the minds of
judges while weakening the public trust in the court," the chief justice said.
Lee said, however, that he decided not to refer Shin to the court's disciplinary
committee, snubbing growing demands for his resignation from other judges.
Since the Supreme Court ethics committee's decision not to recommend disciplinary
actions against Shin became known, a large number of rank-and-file judges have
posted protest letters on the top court's Web site and moved to take collective
action to demand Shin's resignation.
"Looking back on the incident, the court is determined to step up its effort to
guarantee the independence of judges in court proceedings," said Lee.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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