Joo Jin-woo: 'No qualification to be Supreme Court justice if there is tax evasion and irregularities'

'A privilege ordinary citizens cannot enjoy — out of step with public expectations'

People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo. [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo. [Yonhap]

Allegations emerged Wednesday from the opposition that Supreme Court justice nominee Kim Sung-su has been living in a Gangnam apartment on a jeonse deposit of 350 million won ($255,000).

People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo held a press conference at the National Assembly that day, saying the arrangement was possible because Kim's brother-in-law leased a 142-square-meter unit at Dogok Rexle and then sublet it to Kim at a fraction of the market price.

According to Joo, the current jeonse market rate for Dogok Rexle stands at 1.95 billion won. Joo called the arrangement "gift tax evasion."

"This is a textbook gift-tax evasion scheme in which he receives enormous financial benefit from his brother-in-law," Joo said. "A Supreme Court justice is the last line of defense upholding South Korea's legal order and is held to the highest standard of integrity. If there is tax evasion and irregularities, he has no qualification to serve."

Joo said the alleged tax evasion was not an isolated incident. He said Kim had lived in an apartment at Yeoksam e-Pyeonhansesang, also owned by his brother-in-law, for about 10 years starting in 2011 before moving to Dogok Rexle in 2021, paying a fixed jeonse deposit of 350 million won throughout — a span of 15 years in high-value apartments.

"This amounts to repeated, habitual tax evasion worth hundreds of millions of won," Joo said. "It is a privilege ordinary citizens simply cannot enjoy, and it is out of step with public expectations."

Joo said the allegations surrounding Kim's subletting arrangement would deepen the frustration felt by young people. "Young people today are being pushed off the housing ladder because they cannot afford skyrocketing monthly rents, let alone a jeonse deposit," he said. "If a Supreme Court nominee received financial support from his brother-in-law to live alone in a high-priced Gangnam apartment, he has already forfeited his qualification."

Joo also directed criticism at the government. "President Lee Jae Myung is shopping for Supreme Court justices who will handle his own trial," he said. "Does being Lee's pick mean a justice can keep his seat even after evading taxes?"

"The public knows why President Lee is shopping for justices," Joo added. "He is trying to take control of the judiciary to make his own trial disappear."

Joo called on President Lee to stop attempting to control the judiciary and urged nominee Kim to pay any unpaid taxes and decide his own future.


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