Hidden Side of Special Counsel Min Jung-ki, a Former Judge? “A Credit Card Is All It Takes”

[Choice Times=Bosik Choi, Publisher]

Special Counsel Min Jung-ki (66) represents a textbook example of how disgraceful a person can be and still rise to become a judge in South Korea.

Min was appointed as Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court in 2018 during theMoon Jae-in administration. He was a member of theResearch Society for Our Law, the same group led by then–Chief JusticeKim Myeong-su.

When he was a senior judge at the Seoul High Court, Min allegedly made vulgar remarks during a dinner with female journalists, saying, “Do you know what a man needs to satisfy a woman? A credit card is all it takes.” He then used his fingers to make a gesture implying a male body part, adding, “This size is just right.”

His appointment triggered public outrage at the time, with many questioning, “Should a sex offender become the head of the largest court in the country?”

After stepping down from the bench, Min worked as a lawyer until theLee Jae-myung administrationappointed him as special prosecutor to investigate allegations involving First LadyKim Keon-hee.

Fueled by zeal, Min went after anything with Kim’s name on it, as if he were wearing the “One Ring.” His investigation seemed bent on prying into every corner of theYoon Suk Yeol administration.

Then a tragedy occurred:Jeong Hui-cheol, a township head in Yangpyeong County, left behind a handwritten suicide note blaming coercive investigation and took his own life. The letter described psychological pressure akin to “mental torture” during questioning by the special counsel’s team.

Despite this, Min issued a statement claiming the subject had been “treated courteously and sent home,” and blocked the release of the full 20-page suicide letter to the family. He also insisted on an internal investigation rather than an independent inquiry. The rulingDemocratic Party of Koreasided with him, rejecting parliamentary oversight or an official investigation.

Another scandal emerged regarding Min’s own financial history. In April 2008, while serving as a senior judge at theBusan High Court, Min purchased 10,000 unlisted shares ofNeosemitech, a solar material company, for ₩5 million. The company’s CEO was his classmate from high school and university, raising suspicions of insider information.

Only four months later, in October 2008, the company was delisted due to accounting fraud. Over 7,000 investors suffered damages totaling more than ₩400 billion. But on the day before delisting, Min and the CEO sold all their shares and walked away with over ₩150 million — a 30-fold profit.

Even more astonishing, this same stock came up during the investigation of Kim Keon-hee. Min interrogated her over involvement in the company’s stock, accusing her of colluding with speculative forces — despite the fact that he himself had profited from the same stock years earlier.

His legal team claimed Min had invested ₩30–40 million through a friend’s introduction in the early 2000s and sold the shares for about ₩130 million in 2010 upon a broker’s advice. They refused to explain why the sale happened right before the delisting — the same day the company’s CEO sold his shares.

This is the track record of a man who rose to the highest ranks of the judiciary. A man with even a shred of conscience or dignity would have stepped down immediately.

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