Ex-deputy chief of Nat’l Court Admin convicted in power abuse case

Lim Jong-hun, former deputy head of the National Court Administration (NCA), the Supreme Court’s governing body, was sentenced by a court Monday to two years in prison, suspended for three years, after being convicted in a controversial power abuse case.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the suspended prison sentence to Lim, who was indicted in 2018 on abuse of judiciary power and other charges.

Lim, who worked for the NCA from 2012-2017, was indicted on about 30 charges, including dereliction of duty, cracking down on critical voices against the judiciary, creation of a slush fund, leaking official secrets, loss of national treasury and the creation of false official documents.

He was accused of being the key man who helped former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae use trials as bargaining chips in dealings, including the alleged push to establish a court of appeals, with the presidential office under the previous Park Geun-hye government.

Lim thus became the third to be convicted among 14 former and incumbent judges indicted in the judicial power abuse scandal. Yang was acquitted of all charges by the same court last month.

The court said it found Lim guilty of intervening in trials involving unionized teachers in 2014 and a former lawmaker embroiled in legal disputes in 2015. He was also convicted of creating a slush fund worth 350 million won (US$263,000).