Investigation finds justice could have influenced U.S. beef protest trials

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details at bottom)
SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- A Supreme Court justice was referred to a judiciary
ethics committee Monday after an internal investigative panel concluded his
actions could have influenced junior judges in trials involving protesters of
U.S. beef imports.

Justice Shin Young-chul was put under a probe by the panel early this month after
he was found to have sent confidential e-mails to junior judges between October
and November last year when he was serving as head of the Seoul Central District
Court. The emails asked the judges "speed up" the trials of individuals arrested
for violence during the months-long anti-U.S beef rallies.
The protests shook the nascent Lee Myung-bak government that had just taken
office a few months earlier.
In October, a judge stirred controversy by asking the Constitutional Court to
look into the legitimacy of an existing law that bans outdoor demonstrations
after sunset. Another judge suspended a trial and ordered the release of two
defendants who were involved in the anti-U.S. beef protests.
When a case is taken to the Constitutional Court, related cases are postponed
until a ruling is made.
Shin was accused of calling the judges and advising them to make their decisions
"cautiously" to avoid any social confusion.
He is also suspected of having met the chief justice of the Constitutional Court
to review the schedule of the legal proceedings on beef demonstrations.
"There is a possibility that his acts influenced some of the trials, as he
repeatedly sent e-mails to speed them up," the investigative panel said. The
panel was formed immediately after Shin's e-mails were leaked to the public.
"Demand for changes in the proceedings of a trial infringes upon the independence
of a judge and cannot be tolerated," the committee said.
Shin, however, was cleared of suspicions that he allegedly ordered a judge to
postpone a separate trial of a case involving a violation of the anti-communist
National Security Law.
Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, floor leader of the ruling Grand National Party, said that
the investigation seems to have taken into account both sides of the argument,
adding that "the ethics committee is expected to review whether to ask Shin to
resign."
Civic groups welcomed the probe results and pressed Shin to resign.
"Separately from the pending ethics committee investigation, Shin should
voluntarily resign, as he was found to have been involved in trials and abused
judiciary administrative power," Ahn Jin-geol, an official at the People's
Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, said.
The main opposition Democratic Party echoed the view.
"We believe that the investigation would be an opportunity for the judiciary body
to restore its faith from the people," Rep. Kim Yoo-jung, spokesperson for the
DP, said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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