The Supreme Court has accepted the resignation of a presiding judge who caused a disturbance by drinking during work hours.
According to legal circles on Wednesday, the Supreme Court accepted the resignation of Presiding Judge Oh, who was affiliated with the Incheon District Court, at the end of last month.
Judge Oh sparked controversy when it was revealed that while working at the Jeju District Court in June 2024, he visited a karaoke establishment with other presiding judges during work hours after drinking. The karaoke business owner reportedly asked them to leave due to the smell of alcohol, but when they refused, police were called to the scene.
In response, the Court Audit Committee determined that three presiding judges including Judge Oh had violated their "duty to maintain dignity" and resolved to issue a "warning" in September last year.
Separately, Judge Oh is also under suspicion of issuing a verdict on his own in a panel case in March last year without consulting the other judges. This matter is reportedly under investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.
However, the Audit Committee determined that this matter was difficult to consider as grounds for disciplinary action, and the Supreme Court accepted Judge Oh's resignation without applying resignation restriction provisions.
According to the regulations on restrictions on voluntary retirement of judges, resignation is restricted when misconduct under investigation constitutes illegal conduct during tenure that qualifies as disciplinary grounds (suspension, salary reduction, or reprimand) under the Judges Disciplinary Act.
