The Democratic Party on the 19th released photos related to allegations of entertainment at a room salon involving Judge Ji Gu-yeon of the Seoul Central District Court. Judge Ji is presiding over the trial concerning former President Yoon Seok-yeol’s rebellion charges.
Noh Jong-myeon, spokesman for the Democratic Party’s election committee, stated at a briefing held at the party headquarters in Yeouido that, although the party intended to cooperate with judicial self-inspection by providing the photos, they had no choice but to release the images to the public to prove the judge’s lies.
The photo released at the briefing showed Judge Ji sitting with two acquaintances, which Noh described as being at a room salon. There were beverages and bottled water placed beside him, and Noh explained that the party confirmed the same drinks were provided at the establishment by visiting it directly.
To demonstrate the venue was indeed a room salon, Noh also released a photo presumed to have been taken in the salon’s hall featuring female employees. Citing a whistleblower, he stated that Judge Ji allegedly enjoyed expensive alcohol with female employees. He added that it is untenable for a judge who lies so blatantly to be entrusted with trials and stressed that Judge Ji should be stripped of his robes immediately.
Noh also mentioned that the Democratic Party inspected the actual venue where the entertainment occurred, noting it was an upscale room salon located in Gangnam, Seoul. Furthermore, he said the party is actively considering filing a complaint with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials regarding Judge Ji, while also monitoring the judiciary’s self-cleansing capabilities.
Prior to these developments, Judge Ji denied the allegations of entertainment during the fourth hearing of the rebel trial against former President Yoon Seok-yeol in room 417 of the Seoul Central District Court, saying the claims were not true and that he never considered being entertained in such establishments.
The allegations against Judge Ji were first raised on the 14th by Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min, who claimed in a parliamentary committee meeting that he received reports of the judge enjoying drinks at a room salon costing between 1 million won and 2 million won per person multiple times without ever paying.
In response, the Supreme Court’s ethics and audit office stated on the 16th that it is examining all possible methods to verify the facts based on parliamentary data and media reports, and will proceed according to related laws if specific misconduct is confirmed.
Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung commented on the judge’s denial, stating he had not yet seen the specifics, but expected the party to handle the matter based on objective and rational grounds.