Chief Justice Cho Hee-de's lunch tab for 18 was priced for just 7
According to documents submitted by the National Court Administration to the National Assembly, an entry under Chief Justice Cho Hee-de's official business expenses records a 525,000-won payment for a luncheon of 18 people at a sushi omakase restaurant whose lunch menu costs 75,000 won per person — yet the amount matches exactly seven lunch courses. The expense records from December 2023 to June 2026, which the National Court Administration provided to the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Ki-pyo, contained numerous such cases. After cross-referencing the spending records with menu prices at each restaurant and verifying the sites in person, OhmyNews found repeated instances at restaurants including S-OOO where the number of attendees and the amount paid could not be reconciled.
Documents submitted by the National Court Administration to the National Assembly state that 525,000 won was paid for an 18-person luncheon at S-OOO, a sushi omakase restaurant in Seocho-gu, Seoul whose lunch menu consists solely of a 75,000-won course per person — but 525,000 won matches the price of seven lunch courses. When comparing payment amounts, menu prices, and the number of attendees recorded, mismatched figures appeared more than once.
A similar pattern was found at Hae-OOOO, a traditional Korean fine-dining restaurant. Its lunch course costs 65,000 won per person, yet in January this year 525,000 won was spent on a luncheon with officials from the law newspaper Beophul, and the documents recorded 11 attendees. However, Beophul CEO Lee Soo-hyung was reported as saying that seven people attended in all — four from the Supreme Court and three from Beophul. Based on the actual headcount, that comes to 75,000 won per person. A luncheon in April with the head of the National Court Administration's planning bureau and others likewise cost 520,000 won and was recorded as attended by 17 people, but the amount matches eight lunch courses.
When OhmyNews visited the frequently used restaurants in person on the 7th, an S-OOO employee said the menu consists only of a 75,000-won lunch and a 160,000-won dinner, and that group reservations for 20 or more people would be difficult to accommodate. Cha-OOOO, the most frequently used venue, explained that per-person spending of 30,000 won is possible when ordering a la carte, and that reservations can exceed 30 people depending on the situation.
The 2025 budget and fund operation execution guidelines confirmed by the Supreme Court set no separate per-person cap for business expense meals, so high per-person meal costs alone would not constitute a rule violation. The National Court Administration acknowledged that attendee numbers were recorded inaccurately but maintains they were clerical errors. Chief Justice Cho also told the same audit that he "has absolutely no idea" about budget allocations, expenditures, or how much meals cost on any given day, and said the National Court Administration would correct the matter. During his answers, he also remarked that "our members' wish is to try foods they have never been able to eat before."
Lawmaker Kim Ki-pyo said the judiciary cannot be above the law when it comes to spending taxpayers' money, and called for the Supreme Court's new detailed regulations now being drafted to include strict and substantive standards, such as establishing per-person meal cost limits and making it mandatory to justify exceptions.
