A Korean Judge Is Caught Engaging In Illegal Prostitution — Netizens Are Outraged

A few months ago, an active Korean judge engaged in prostitution while on a business trip. Netizens were outraged when they heard about his light punishment.

This photo is for illustrative purposes only. | Unsplash

On June 22, the 42-year-old judge from Ulsan was in Seoul for a judicial training program. It was reported that after attending the program, he engaged in prostitution at a studio apartment in the Gangnam area.

The Judicial Disciplinary Committee, composed of Supreme Court justices, external lawyers, and law professors, explained that this action damagea judge’s dignity and lowered the court’s prestigert. When a judge violates their duty or damages their dignity in the course of duty, they can face one of three disciplinary actions: reprimand, salary reduction, or suspension. A suspension for one year is the most severe level of discipline.

The Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. | News1

According to the Judges’ Disciplinary Act, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court makes disciplinary decisions for the respective judge and publishes the results in an official report for public disclosure. On August 23, the court announced that they decided to suspend the judge for three months.

Regarding this disciplinary action, they mentioned that it happened during his personal time, not work time.

This incident occurred while the judge was returning home after the judicial training, so it would not apply if the judge had left the workplace without valid reason. However, we took into account the fact that the judge did not return home immediately and engaged in prostitution.

— The Court

When Korean netizens heard about the judge’s three-month suspension, they were astonished at how light the punishment was.

| theqoo

• “That’s it?”
• “It ends with… Suspension??????”
• “Suspension lol he’s going to do it again”
• “It’s a three-month vacation lol”
• “Do they even have a dignity to damage? They’re trash”
• “Do they not know that prostitution is illegal?”
• “You were involved in prostitution and got a vacation. Congratulations. You have an amazing job.”
• “Do judges have a special advantage of not getting punished when they commit a crime? A three-month suspension, that’s it?”
• “Dignity LOL  It’s been a long time since you lost that lol wtf are they talking about dignity for?”
• “Not three years, but three months.”
• “Reveal the sex offender’s identity.”
• “Isn’t he going to do it again during his three-month vacation? hahaha”
• “It appears that prostitution is legal in our country”
• “But that’s considered punishment in his workplace. What about punishment for the crime?”
• “What a crazy country. Why are there even laws then?”
• “Why was he not fired?”
• “F*ck, how is this sex offender a judge? How would you trust him if he was assigned a sex crime case?”
• “Wow. What. A. Powerful. Punishment.”
• “F*ck, it’s not even funny anymore.”
• “A judge going around hiring prostitutes?? What a crazy piece of sh*t. It’s because jerks like him are in places of power that sex offenders are freakin’ unruly.”

South Korea banned the sex trade in 2004, making prostitution illegal. However, there are many red-light districts where people can access illegal prostitution.