Three sitting judges who were implicated in a judicial power abuse scandal have been acquitted by an appellate court.

On Friday, the Seoul High Court upheld a not guilty verdict for three senior judges - Shin Gwang-ryul, Cho Eui-yeon and Seong Chang-ho - who were indicted on charges of leaking official secrets.

The prosecution had demanded a prison term of one to two years for each. 

The three were accused of working to prevent an investigation into judges who were allegedly lobbied by a businessman in 2016 for a favorable outcome in his gambling-related trial. Prosecutors argued that they leaked classified information related to the investigation to block a widening probe into the judiciary. 

However, the court found insufficient evidence for their collusion and also did not acknowledge the leaked content as official secrets.