Judge Handling Former South Korean First Lady’s Case Found Dead

Seoul. A judge who handled the appeal trial of former first lady Kim Keon-hee on charges including stock manipulation and graft was found dead early Wednesday.

Seoul High Court Judge Shin Jong-oh was found near the court building in Seoul at around 1 a.m. local time, after police received a report around midnight, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap. Police are investigating the exact cause of death.

On Monday, a special counsel team appealed to South Korea’s Supreme Court against the appellate court ruling that sentenced Kim, wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, to four years in prison.

On April 28, the Seoul High Court overturned the lower court’s ruling, increasing Kim’s prison term from 20 months to four years with a fine of 50 million won (about 33,910 U.S. dollars). However, the sentence fell short of the 15-year term sought by the special counsel team.