Chief Justice Kim hints at cooperation in investigating his predecessor

The Supreme Court indicated that it will cooperate with the prosecution in investigating former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae over allegations that he kept a secret list of judges and their political orientations. 

On Tuesday, Chief Justice Kim Myeong-so of the top court told reporters on his way to work that “all options are on the table” in response to questions on whether the prosecution could launch a separate investigation into Yang.

The remark came a day after Kim said he was “disappointed” at the recent findings of the court’s internal probe team which revealed last week that the judiciary under his predecessor, Yang, had kept a secret blacklist, while making deals with the presidential office over trials to get its support to introduce a new appellate court. 

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office is reported to be reviewing starting an investigation into the matter after a civic group filed a complaint against the top court over the blacklist scandal.

The internal probe team of the top court was launched in February to look into suspicions over the illicit surveillance of judges that arose early last year.

The suspicions involve the National Court Administration under the previous Park Geun-hye administration which allegedly tried to scale down an internal academic meeting scheduled to be held by some judges last year.

The National Court Administration also allegedly compiled a secret list that detailed judges’ political orientation and activities.

The alleged list sparked public outrage as it was seen much like the black list of cultural figures compiled by the Culture Ministry during the administration of Park who was removed from office in March last year over a massive corruption scandal.

In April last year, the Supreme Court, led by then chief Yang Sung-tae, also set up a team to investigate the existence of the list and concluded it was groundless.

After the liberal Moon Jae-in administration was inaugurated in May last year, new Chief Justice Kim launched a fresh probe but the results announced in January failed to find any cases of disadvantage suffered by specific judges. The third probe into the matter was initiated amid growing calls for a thorough investigation into the blacklist scandal and the court’s reform.

The team concluded last Friday that there was illegal surveillance of judges by the National Court Administration under the former chief justice, but added that no cases were confirmed where judges faced disadvantages based on their political views.

Lawmakers, including floor leader of the minor progressive Justice Party Roh Hoe-chan, said a separate and independent investigation by the prosecution is necessary to clear up the scandal.

“No proper questioning for former Chief Justice Yang has been ever conducted although the National Court Administration was under his supervision,” Roh said.

By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)