[Editorial] Absurd trial delay

The Supreme Court’s confirmation of conviction of former lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang for embezzling donations, is a reminder of a legal maxim that justice delayed is justice denied.

Last Thursday the top court confirmed the second-trial judgment that had given her a one-year and six-month jail sentence, suspended for three years, for pocketing money donated to the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.

The final judiciary conclusion came four years and two months after she was indicted by the prosecution. It came too late.

She was indicted in September 2020, three months after starting her term as a lawmaker. However, the court in the first trial dragged its feet for two years and five months before issuing her a fine of 15 million won ($10,745) in February 2023. Because of this, she was able to avoid losing her seat as a lawmaker. A lawmaker loses his or her seat in the National Assembly if a jail sentence given to a lawmaker in the lower court is confirmed by the Supreme Court.

In September last year -- eight months after the first-trial ruling -- the appeals court expanded the scope of embezzlement it recognized, and raised the punishment to a year and a half in prison, suspended for three years.

The final judgment also took a long time. The Supreme Court spent a year and two months until it confirmed the second-trial ruling.

In the meantime, she served out her four-year term as a lawmaker and retired in May. She received all of the salary and allowance paid to a lawmaker during her term. She enjoyed all of the benefits available to lawmakers. As a South Korean lawmaker, she even attended an event hosted by a pro-North Korean federation of Korean residents in Japan. What is the use of making a ruling that invalidates the election of a lawmaker after she retires? It is hard to call this a ruling.

The charges against Yoon are too unethical to contemplate. It is shameless to embezzle donations made by well-wishing citizens to help former “comfort women” who were victims of Japan’s wartime military sexual slavery. As head of the civic group for them, she collected donations under the pretext of their overseas travel expenses, condolence money for deceased victims and the like, and used about 100 million won of it for her private use.

Yoon’s case was not the only one to suffer from trial delays. Former Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho was indicted with several Cheong Wa Dae officials under former President Moon Jae-in for intervening in the Ulsan mayoral election to get Song, an old friend of Moon, elected. Song was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison in the first-trial court, but the sentence came after he served out his mayoral term.

Rep. Hwang Un-ha of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party, indicted together with Song, was sentenced to three years in prison in his first trial but he appealed and served out his term as a lawmaker. He was then reelected.

When Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae took office, he emphasized quick and fair rulings. But many people do not feel major changes have been made yet. Cho Kuk, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, was indicted in December 2019 on charges related to his children's college admissions and blocking a Cheong Wa Dae inspection into corruption allegations involving a former Busan vice mayor.

In February, about four years after being indicted, Cho was sentenced to two years in prison in an appeal court. If this ruling is confirmed at the Supreme Court, he will lose his seat in the National Assembly. But nine months after the appeals court ruling was made, the Supreme Court has not fixed the related hearing schedule yet. An advisory panel of the Supreme Court on Wednesday recommended to Chief Justice Cho measures necessary to expedite trials. Now is the time not to talk, but to show action.