After two months, on July 31, the Supreme Court released an additional 196 documents (excluding copies) that had not been made public among the 410 documents that the special investigation team on the alleged abuse of court authority had secured, but the court still refused to release some controversial documents. The Supreme Court did not disclose the document with the details of how judge Lee Tan-hee (40), a member of a judges’ research group on international human rights law--a group that stressed reforms in the court--submitted his resignation after he was assigned to the National Court Administration and later returned to his original position in court. Meanwhile, the court released the entire document including a statement by Lim Jong-hun, former deputy director of the National Court Administration, on his position concerning the alleged orders to scale down a symposium by the International Human Rights Law Study Group to a relevant judge.

Lee Tan-hee refused to serve in the National Court Administration after finding out that the administration was trying to disband the research group, and he was the person who triggered allegations of the Supreme Court and its abuse of court authority after his incident was exposed in the press (Kyunghyang Shinmun March 6, 2017 edition, pages 1 and 11).

The Kyunghyang Shinmun obtained a document summarizing the details related to judge Lee Tan-hee (Mar. 2017) among the documents that were not released. The document includes a conversation and text messages between Im Hyo-ryang (40), the former first director general of planning at the National Court Administration and Judge Lee from February 9 to February 21, 2017.

On February 15, 2017, Lee told Im, "A former member of the Sentencing Committee Lee Kyu-jin called and hinted at the fact that he was transferred to the office of planning and coordination thanks to me." He further said, "Lee asked me to explain to the members of the research group on international human rights law that the ban on multiple memberships in specialized study groups was irrelevant with our group."

This measure, which banned judges from joining multiple study groups inside the court, was one aimed at the International Human Rights Law Study Group, which had planned to hold a symposium on the topic of judicial reforms on March 25 that same year.

Im also told Lee, "A lot of the judges in the International Human Rights Law Study Group were transferred to good positions in the latest personnel appointments, and I think that was carried out along with the ban on multiple memberships." He continued, "I think perhaps they (National Court Administration) are trying to draw in some key figures (of the study group) to weaken the power of the group." Eventually, Lee submitted his resignation on February 16 and told Im, "I cannot work like that. The story of Lee that I told you yesterday is just the tip of the iceberg."

This day, the Supreme Court released the full report that Lim submitted last March claiming, "I never gave any orders to scale down the symposium." In the report, Lim stated, "The details of the (Kyunghyang Shinmun) article on inappropriate orders to a judge and the unfavorable transfer following the refusal to follow orders are obviously a false report, far from the truth."

The Supreme Court continues to refuse to disclose an analysis of the members of the 20th National Assembly, which the court wrote on July 27, 2016. Reportedly, this is a 62-page document with details of the tendency and weaknesses of major lawmakers, progress of relevant trials, and the target lawmakers to establish a final appeals court.