The Board of Audit and Inspection said the National Court Administration paid about 1.3 billion Korean won in incentives without a legal basis to 12 Supreme Court justices and the chief of the National Court Administration from 2022 through September 2025. Justices received an average of 2 million won monthly through April 2024, in addition to 5.12 million won each in special duty allowances, while the administration chief received 3 million won monthly during the same period. Payments varied from May 2024, but similar annual totals led auditors to characterize them as regular incentives prohibited by internal guidelines. The audit also identified payments to members of the Supreme Court chief justice’s security detail, a 650 million won computer operating-system upgrade despite an earlier free-upgrade contract, and excess equipment purchases that left thousands of computers, printers and scanners unused. The audit was the Supreme Court’s first since 2021 and was announced on August 31, 2026.