‘Drinking Hospitality’ Case Assigned to Judge’s Training Institute Classmate Gets New Panel

The first trial of Seoul Northern District Court senior judge Ji Gui-yeon, who faces charges over alleged drinking hospitality, has been reassigned after the case initially went to a judge from the same judicial training institute class.

The Seoul Central District Court said on September 8 that the Criminal Division 4 judge requested reassignment because their shared judicial training cohort could create concerns or misunderstandings about the trial’s fairness. After confirming grounds for reassignment, the court used a random electronic allocation to transfer the case to Criminal Division 10, headed by Judge Lee Jae-wook.

The case had been assigned the previous day to Judge Park Kang-gyun of Criminal Division 4. Park and Ji both belong to the 31st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, prompting Park to request a change of assignment.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials indicted Ji on September 4 for allegedly violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. Prosecutors allege that in August 2023, Ji received a drinking gathering worth 4.09 million won from two lawyers at a reservation-only bar in Seoul’s Cheongdam district.

Ji served as the presiding judge in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s first trial on charges of being the leader of an insurrection. He also ruled to cancel Yoon’s detention. The reassignment places the case before a different judge while the allegations remain unresolved.

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The presiding judge requested reassignment because the same judicial research and training institute class could create concerns about the fairness of the trial.