The Daily Populous Thursday May 7th, 2026 morning edition
Authored by japantimes.co.jp and submitted by King_A_Acumen

A South Korean judge who more than doubled the former first lady's prison sentence last month was found dead on Wednesday, police said.

Shin Jong-o was "found unconscious around 1:00 a.m. ... at the Seoul High Court building," an investigator at Seocho district police station said.

Shin was taken to hospital and pronounced dead, he said, adding: "There is no sign of foul play in the death."

Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none.

Last month, Shin presided over 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 her acquittal by a lower court on the stock manipulation charge was overturned.

Shin said at the time 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 requests privacy.

Grimtongues on May 6th, 2026 at 17:22 UTC »

Shin Jong-oh beat himself to death, dumped his body into a flower bed outside the courthouse, and then wrote a suicide note saying he was leaving this world voluntarily... seems legit

slashd on May 6th, 2026 at 16:33 UTC »

> https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3352562/south-korean-judge-who-handed-kim-keon-hee-4-year-term-found-dead-days-after-verdict

> Shin Jong-oh, who was found with severe injuries on the ground near the Seoul High Court, had a suicide note in his pocket, police say

> Shin Jong-oh, who had overturned a lower court’s not guilty verdict and imposed a harsher sentence on Kim, was discovered with severe injuries in a flower bed near the Seoul High Court building in Seocho district, southern Seoul.

> “It is true that an apparent suicide note was found in his pocket,” an officer at Seocho Police Station told This Week in Asia. The note reportedly included phrases such as “I am sorry” and “I am leaving of my own accord”.

Some more details...

HarlequinKOTF on May 6th, 2026 at 15:29 UTC »

Not suspicious at all.