Jo Doo-soon leaves court after a hearing [Yonhap]
Jo Doo-soon leaves court after a hearing [Yonhap]

The judge who reduced child sex offender Jo Doo-soon's sentence by accepting a diminished-capacity defense based on intoxication has, since retiring from the bench, been working as a sex crime defense lawyer and advertising reduced sentences and suspended sentences in sex crime cases as "success stories."

According to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Dong-a of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the former presiding judge — identified only by his surname Lee — who handled the Jo Doo-soon case at the Ansan branch of Suwon District Court in 2009 joined a law firm in March last year and has been practicing as a sex crime defense specialist.

Jo Doo-soon sentenced to 12 years after court accepts intoxication-based diminished capacity

Jo was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of raping and seriously injuring a first-grade elementary school girl in front of a church in Danwon-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, in December 2008.

Prosecutors had sought a life sentence, but the trial court in March 2009 acknowledged the gravity of the crime while accepting that Jo had been in a state of diminished capacity due to intoxication at the time, and reduced the sentence accordingly. Prosecutors did not appeal, and the Supreme Court upheld the 12-year sentence in September of that year.

The ruling drew criticism for being too lenient given the serious injuries suffered by the victim. The diminished-capacity reduction based on intoxication proved particularly controversial. Jo was released in December 2020 after serving the full 12 years.

Former judge rose to family court chief before retiring, now promotes sex crime defense record

After the Jo Doo-soon ruling, the former presiding judge went on to hold senior positions in the court system. He served as a specialist judge in family and juvenile matters at the Seoul Family Court from 2010 to 2015 and was senior presiding judge there in 2018. In February 2020, he was promoted to chief judge of the Gwangju Family Court.

That same year — the year Jo was released — he was named one of the "outstanding judges" selected by the Seoul Bar Association.

Since retiring and entering private practice, the former judge has reportedly been advertising outcomes such as a fine in an illegal filming case and suspended sentences in sexual violence and prostitution cases as "success stories," while charging high fees.

Lawmaker Kim criticized the former judge's conduct. "The presiding judge who granted Jo Doo-soon a diminished-capacity reduction, went on to serve as a family court chief judge, and is now profiting by promoting sentence reductions and suspended sentences in sex crime cases as success stories," Kim said. "This is behavior that wounds victims and the public twice over."


bbo@heraldcorp.com