Seoul Northern District Court Chief Judge Ji Gui-yeon was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Anti-Graft Act for allegedly receiving a reception worth 4.09 million won from two lawyers. The Public Prosecutors' Office judged that the remaining amount, excluding 155,000 won, exceeded 1 million won even when divided among three people, and that the lawyers shared the intention to treat Judge Ji together and paid only the cost, so they were indicted on charges of violating the Anti-Graft Act. However, bribery was not applied because the quid pro quo with official duties was not proven. Judge Ji argued that he hardly drank alcohol at the time of the reception, but the Public Prosecutors' Office confirmed through taxi call records and other evidence that he stayed at the bar for 4 to 5 hours. The Public Prosecutors' Office investigated whether there was a quid pro quo such as judicial convenience in consideration of the fact that the providers of hospitality were lawyers, but concluded that bribery was difficult to apply because there were no cases entrusted to these lawyers in the trial department where Judge Ji belonged at the time of the reception. Judge Ji's side expressed bewilderment about the Public Prosecutors' Office's legal application and argued that the amount received from the same person did not exceed 1 million won.
