hankyoreh

Prosecutors on Tuesday arrested a former senior judge on suspicion of taking kickbacks in return for influencing court proceedings.

Earlier in the day, a Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for Cho Kwan-haeng, 50, who is suspected of receiving 130 million won (US$134,680) worth of luxury gifts and cash from a broker in exchange for meddling in five to six civil and criminal cases for years, according to prosecutors.

"Cho's arrest is unavoidable as he may run away and destroy evidence related to the case," said Lee Sang-ju, senior judge at Seoul District Court.

Cho was the highest-ranking justice in the country's history ever to be arrested on personal corruption charges.

He resigned on Friday as a senior judge of the Seoul High Court, a vice ministerial level post, after being questioned by prosecutors over the influence-peddling suspicions.

Prosecutors sought the warrant as part of the investigation into a high-profile corruption allegations involving a dozen senior judges, prosecutors and police officers.

Prosecutors say the officials received huge sums in kickbacks from a jailed broker named Kim Hong-soo over the past few years in exchange for exercising their undue influence in legal proceedings.

The prosecution also arrested a former prosecutor and a former head of a district police station for allegedly taking 10 million won and 30 million won in bribe money from the broker, respectively.

The former prosecutor took the money in return for closing the prosecution's internal probe into the broker-related case, prosecutors said. The police officer accepted the money as a payment for opening an investigation into a certain person at the request from the broker, they added.

Prosecutors found a clue to the bribery scandal centered around the 58-year-old broker in late May when prosecutors investigated a former aide to a lawmaker identified as Kim on suspicion of taking kickbacks from the broker in return for business favors.

The prosecution have expanded its probe since it secured a personal cash book containing a list of about 100 officials, including the 12 key figures, whom the broker allegedly bribed for offers, from a Seoul detention center where the man is in custody.

The broker admitted illegally lobbying officials, prosecutors said.


Seoul, Aug. 9 (Yonhap News)