Under pressure, Supreme Court decides to punish scandal-ridden judges

Korea’s top court said it will resume disciplinary procedures for justices involved in a massive judiciary power abuse case, apparently under pressure from ongoing public discussions on impeaching the offenders.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will reopen the disciplinary committee against 13 judges for their collusion in a power abuse case involving former Supreme Court Justice Yang Seung-tae, with the aim of taking action by the end of the year. The move comes three months after the last committee meeting in August.

The prosecution is currently investigating the case, in which Yang and subordinate judges are suspected of having used politically sensitive trials as bargaining chips to win favor from the Park Geun-hye administration.

In a separate probe, the Supreme Court found that 13 justices -- four senior judges from Seoul High Court, and seven senior and two junior judges from regional district courts -- were involved, and referred them to its disciplinary committee in June.

After holding two deliberation meetings, in July and August, the disciplinary committee decided to adjourn the process, saying it had to wait for the result of the prosecutorial investigation.

The top court’s decision appears to be influenced by mounting public criticism over inaction, and ongoing discussions on whether the judges should be impeached.

Opinions are still divided within the judiciary on how to punish the justices, but a group of judges on Monday voted that the irregularities by the judges have “seriously violated the Constitution,” and that “not only internal penalty measures, but impeachment should also be considered.”

The group’s stance is likely to prompt a response from the National Assembly, where the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to gather political consent for strong punishment against the offenders.

A justice can only be impeached upon approval from the National Assembly and Constitutional Court. No judge has ever been impeached in Korea.

Meanwhile, the prosecution will call in former top court chief, Ko Young-han, for questioning Friday, speeding up its investigation to target high-ranking figures.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)