'사법농단 정점' 양승태 전 대법원장 구속영장 청구<br /><br />Prosecutors have sought an arrest warrant for a former Supreme Court chief justice.<br />This comes after Yang Sung-tae has been grilled by investigators since last week for his alleged involvement in a massive power abuse scandal.<br />Kim Mok-yeon has the latest on the probe. <br />Just a week after first summoning Korea's former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae for questioning, prosecutors have now filed an arrest warrant against the former head of the judiciary.<br />The team of prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office sought a warrant against Yang on Friday, explaining that the allegations against him are serious crimes that damage the very foundations of the law<br />They also claimed that with Yang still flatly denying all allegations against him, they decided to file the warrant as there is a possibility for him to destroy evidence.<br /> Yang, who served as chief justice from 2011 to 2017, is accused of some 40 offenses including using trials as bargaining chips in dealings with the Park Geun-hye administration to achieve his long-envisioned plan of establishing a separate court of appeals. <br />Those trials include ones filed by Korean plaintiffs against Japanese firms that forced them into labor during World War 2.<br /> He allegedly orchestrated the delay in the deliberation of the suit to curry favor with former President Park, who was seeking amicable relations with Tokyo.<br />Yang is also accused of creating a blacklist of judges based on their political leanings, and of leaking confidential information. <br />With the latest decision, Yang now becomes the first former Supreme Court head whose arrest will be reviewed by his junior judge in the judicial department's 71-year history. <br />The court is expected to give its ruling on whether the ex-chief judge will be arrested or not by as early as Tuesday.<br />Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News. <br />
