Audit Agency Confirms Supreme Court Chief Justice's Bonus Payments

Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae recently stated during a National Assembly audit that he had no involvement in the cash bonuses given to Supreme Court justices. However, the Board of Audit and Inspection has claimed to have officially confirmed the payments through accounting documents.

According to a written response submitted by Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Ui-gyeom on October 12, the audit agency stated, "We have confirmed that the Chief Justice provided bonuses to Supreme Court justices and the head of the Court Administration. This was verified through accounting documents and confirmations from the financial department of the Court Administration."

The audit agency also found that no documentation was submitted regarding Cho's high-value wine purchases. The response indicated that the evidence for wine purchases made with operational funds only listed the purpose as 'Supreme Court event supplies,' without specifying the actual date, location, or recipients.

The audit agency requested formal documentation related to the actual events, but the Court Administration declined to provide the information, citing that they did not manage such records. Subsequently, the audit agency was able to trace and confirm the payments solely through accounting documents and its data analysis system (BARON).

Earlier, on August 31, the audit agency reported the results of its regular audit of the Supreme Court, indicating that from 2022 to April 2024, the Court Administration had been paying an average of 2 million won per month in cash bonuses to 12 Supreme Court justices without legal grounds.

In response, Chief Justice Cho strongly denied any involvement in the expenditures during the National Assembly audit on October 6, stating, "It is not the Chief Justice who disburses the state salary or bonuses. There is a separate financial officer responsible for that, and the Chief Justice has no involvement whatsoever." When pressed repeatedly about whether he disbursed funds, Cho reiterated, "I do not disburse funds."

However, the audit agency's findings suggest that the Chief Justice was indeed involved in the bonus payments, raising the possibility of perjury allegations related to his testimony.

Lawmaker Kim criticized Cho on Facebook, stating, "Given that the Chief Justice referred to himself as one of the three branches of government throughout the audit, his claims now appear to be a feeble lie." He urged Cho to clarify his false statements regarding the bonuses and demanded that the Supreme Court and the Court Administration explain why they only submitted documentation for the wine purchases as 'Supreme Court event supplies,' and to clearly disclose the purpose and use of the wine purchases.