SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- A former South Korean top court chief was put under custody Thursday over his alleged involvement in a judicial power abuse scandal.

The Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant to detain Yang Sung-tae, who led the Supreme Court from 2011 to 2017.

The 71-year-old became the first former top court chief in the country's history to be arrested as a criminal suspect.

Prosecutors sought the arrest warrant for Yang on charges of over 40 counts, including abuse of power.

Yang was accused of masterminding a so-called "trial dealings," in which the Supreme Court ruled in politically and diplomatically sensitive trials in favor of the policy direction of former President Park Geun-hye who was removed from office in 2017.

In exchange for it, Yang allegedly sought to win Park's approval for the establishment of a separate court of appeals, known to have been a long dream of Yang.

Lim Jong-hun, a former deputy head of the Supreme Court's administrative body under the Yang's judiciary branch, was put under custody and indicted in November last year over his involvement in the judicial power abuse scandal. Enditem

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