Published: 12:31pm, 20 May 2025Updated: 12:46pm, 20 May 2025
The integrity of South Korea’s judiciary has come under scrutiny as the judge who presided over former president Yoon Suk-yeol’s martial law case faces allegations of unethical conduct.
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Senior Judge Jee Kui-youn has been accused of frequenting high-end hostess bars and being entertained by individuals allegedly seeking favourable court rulings.
Jee leads the three-judge panel overseeing cases involving Yoon, former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, and other military figures implicated in the botched December 3 attempt to impose martial law.
The allegations were raised by opposition lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which currently controls the National Assembly. Jee has flatly denied the accusations, but on Tuesday the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, the government’s anti-corruption agency, said it was looking into the case.
DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is widely expected to defeat conservative rival Kim Moon-soo, a former labour minister under Yoon, who is running on the ruling People Power Party’s ticket.
DPK lawmakers have accused Jee of being entertained multiple times at upscale hostess bars, locally known as “room salons”, by individuals with interests in court matters.