A presiding appellate judge involved in the corruption case of South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon-hee, Shin Jong-o, is found dead near the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul early Wednesday. Police said they received a report around an hour earlier and discovered Shin’s body in a flower bed near the court compound at about 1 a.m. Some reports say he was pronounced dead after arriving at a nearby hospital, while others describe severe injuries consistent with a fall. Investigators are probing the circumstances, including whether Shin jumped from a building, and an apparent suicide note is reported to have been found at the scene. Accounts differ on details of the note, including whether it references the ruling.
Shin had presided over Kim’s appeals trial after she was convicted by a lower court in January. In the appellate ruling issued last month, the court increased her prison sentence to four years from 20 months. The appellate court found her partially guilty of involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme and guilty of accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church. Authorities have not conclusively stated the cause of death.
