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SEOUL, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Prosecutors raided homes and offices of the former chief justice and judges of the South Korean Supreme Court on Sunday, looking for evidence linked to a court sentencing manipulation scandal. Prosecutors said they seized court documents from former Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae, a key figure in the scandal, Asia Economic Daily reported.
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The warrants for the former judges were issued for the first time since prosecutors launched an investigation into a corruption scandal that rocked the country in June. Requests for the warrants had been denied.
Hundreds of citizens took protested Saturday to express outrage toward the court's uncooperative stance with the investigation.
"The court sentences that didn't make sense were results from manipulation by the judges. When court warrants are denied by the court, evidence has been damaged," said one protester, Voices of People reported.
Lawyers for a Democratic Society said Monday it sent a letter to a U.N. special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers upon the world body's request to look into the scandal.
Yang and former judges of the high court have been accused of manipulating court sentences in politically sensitive cases. They are suspected of engaging in trials as part of their lobby to win support for a new appellate court from the former Park Geun-hye administration.
