Police drop case against Supreme Court chief justice

Police said Wednesday they have dismissed a case against Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae over allegations that he distorted legal principles in President Lee Jae Myung's election law violation case.

Lee Byung-chul, a lawyer, had filed a complaint against Cho in March, alleging he intentionally distorted the criminal procedure law when the top court overturned Lee's acquittal in the election law case last year.

The complaint was submitted immediately after a new amendment to the Criminal Act took effect in March. Under the new law, judges or prosecutors can face up to 10 years in prison if they knowingly misapply legal principles.

The lawyer argued the court, led by Cho, failed to properly review the case, pointing out that deliberations ended in just two days despite a case file exceeding 70,000 pages.

The police, however, decided to drop the case earlier this month as the recently enacted legal revision could not be applied retroactively. The top court had delivered the ruling in May last year, well before the amendment took effect this year.

In that ruling, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the Seoul High Court, overturning Lee's acquittal on charges of lying as a presidential candidate during his 2022 election campaign.

The case has been put on hold following Lee's victory in the presidential election in June last year. Sitting presidents are exempt from criminal indictment except in cases of treason or insurrection.

Yonhap