Judge Kim Dong-hyun Acquits Lee Jae-myung in Perjury Case

On November 25, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 33, presided over by Judge Kim Dong-hyun (51, Judicial Research and Training Institute 30th class), delivered a not guilty verdict in the perjury coaching case involving Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Judge Kim, originally from Jangseong County in Jeollanam-do, graduated from Wushin High School in Seoul and obtained his law degree from Korea University.

Judge Kim passed the bar exam at the age of 25 and began his judicial career in 2004 at the Gwangju District Court after serving as a legal officer in the Air Force. He has held positions as a presiding judge at the Busan District Court, Suwon District Court's Ansan branch, and the Seoul Eastern District Court before taking on his current role at the Seoul Central District Court since February of last year. He is known for his extensive experience in criminal trials.

Colleagues describe Judge Kim as someone who maintains good relationships with peers and is known for conducting trials with strong convictions. He is currently overseeing Lee's cases related to the Daejang-dong, Wirye, Seongnam FC, and Baekhyeon-dong incidents, and is known to actively mediate when tensions rise between the prosecution and defense. A fellow judge who has worked with him noted, "He tends to make rulings based on legal principles rather than personal biases."

In fact, when the political community was highly focused on whether to merge Lee's perjury case with the more complex Daejang-dong trial last November, Judge Kim decided to keep the two cases separate. Had the simpler perjury case been combined with the intricate Daejang-dong trial, it could have significantly delayed the proceedings. The Daejang-dong trial is currently ongoing at the first instance.

Additionally, in April, as Lee requested a postponement of the trial to facilitate his election campaign ahead of the general elections, Judge Kim asserted, "It is difficult to make changes. I will determine the course of the trial proceedings."

Meanwhile, the presiding judge, Ahn Geun-hong (36), is a graduate of Seoul National University’s law program and the 44th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute. He worked as a lawyer at Kim & Chang before being appointed as a judge in 2020. Another associate judge, Kim Tae-hyung (40), graduated from Sogang University with a degree in business and has served as a research judge and a judge at the Suwon District Court.