The Board of Audit and Inspection released the results of its regular audit of the Supreme Court on August 31, 2026. The audit covered the period from January 2022 through September 2025. It identified 12 cases of illegality or impropriety and notified the court of measures including cautions and institutional improvements.
Key Changes
The most notable finding concerned incentive payments made to Supreme Court justices and the director of the National Court Administration. During the period in question, the National Court Administration paid a total of ₩1.299 billion in cash incentives to 12 justices and the director.
From 2022 through April 2024, the justices generally received incentive payments twice a month, averaging ₩2 million. From May 2024 through September 2025, the payment dates and amounts varied by justice, but the Board of Audit determined that the payments had a regular nature.
From 2022 through April 2024, the director of the National Court Administration received approximately ₩3 million per month in incentives. After that, the monthly payments ranged from ₩2 million to ₩4 million.
The Board of Audit’s central concern was not only the amount paid, but also the method of making regular incentive payments, such as fixed monthly sums, without a legal basis.
Current Status
The Supreme Court’s budget and fund-management execution guidelines prohibit the payment of regular incentives, including fixed monthly sums, when they lack a legal basis. Based on these guidelines, the Board of Audit called for caution to ensure that regular incentives are not paid to the director of the National Court Administration.
Separately from the incentives, reports indicated that the justices received ₩5.12 million per month in specific business-operation expenses. Therefore, the incentives and specific business-operation expenses should be distinguished rather than treated as the same budget item when interpreting the audit results.
The Supreme Court said it respected the Board of Audit’s findings and that it had been implementing an improved system since July 2026 under which incentives vary according to performance and workload.
Impact
The audit results provide an example of how the legal basis and method for regular payments should be managed in the execution of the Supreme Court’s budget. With the period, amounts, and payment methods for incentives paid to 12 justices and the director now disclosed in detail, attention is focused on the legal basis and payment criteria for budget items.
However, based solely on the publicly available materials, it cannot be concluded that the incentives have been reclaimed or that disciplinary or criminal liability has been established, separate from the Board of Audit’s cautions and notifications. The Board of Audit’s accounting and budget-execution determinations should be considered separately from criminal illegality.
Next Checkpoint
The next points to monitor are the specific operation of the differentiated payment system that the Supreme Court said it began implementing in July 2026, as well as follow-up measures after the audit notification. Based on the currently available public materials, the confirmed measures are the Board of Audit’s caution and notification of institutional improvements.
Separately, as of the end of 2025, the National Court Administration was keeping 6,131 PCs, 2,983 printers, and 559 scanners as reserve equipment. Matters related to reserve IT equipment were also included in the regular audit results.
Source Check
- [Yonhap News: Board of Audit says Supreme Court improperly paid justices ₩2 million monthly incentives](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260831059851001) — Checked August 31, 2026
- [ChosunBiz: Board of Audit says National Court Administration paid ₩1.3 billion in incentives to justices and director over three years](https://biz.chosun.com/policy/policy_sub/2026/08/31/TDPOL7GV7JHPPMT3TUMAQFQFFA/?outputType=amp) — Checked August 31, 2026
- [Kyunghyang Shinmun: Results of the Board of Audit’s Supreme Court audit](https://www.khan.co.kr/article/202608311201001/amp) — Checked August 31, 2026
- [Hankyoreh: Report on Supreme Court cash incentive payments](https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/politics/politics_general/1275455.html) — Checked August 31, 2026