Judge Shin Jong-o, who presided over the appeals trial that sentenced South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee to four years in prison, has been found dead. South Korean police discovered his body on a flower bed near the Seoul High Court compound in southern Seoul on May 6 at approximately 1:00 am, after receiving a report an hour earlier, according to The Korea Times.
Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. A police investigator stated, "There is no sign of foul play in the death." A handwritten suicide note was reportedly found on the judge's body. The note read, "I am sorry. I am leaving by my own choice," and made no mention of the appeals trial involving Kim.
Shin is believed to have fallen from a building, as reported by The Korea Herald. Last month, Shin presided over the 53-year-old Kim Keon Hee's appeal trial, finding her guilty of stock manipulation and bribery, and increasing her sentence to four years from 20 months. The heavier sentence came after a lower court's acquittal on the stock manipulation charge was overturned. The court also ordered the confiscation of a necklace worth 62.2 million won (approximately S$54,316.59) and an additional forfeiture of 20.94 million won (S$18,286).
At the time of sentencing, Shin stated that Kim had "failed to acknowledge her culpability and has instead consistently resorted to excuses." The police investigator said on Wednesday that the judge's "bereaved family is stricken by the incident" and requested privacy.
Shin graduated from Seoul National University's College of Law in 1995, according to The Chosun Daily. He passed the bar exam the same year and completed the 27th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute in 1998. He was appointed as a judge at the Seoul High Court in 2010.
