The head of South Korea's Supreme Court has issued a public apology over the indictment of his predecessor for his involvement in a judicial power abuse scandal and vowed to take additional disciplinary action against judges linked to the scandal.

Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su said on Tuesday that after the final outcome of the prosecution’s investigation, he will consider additional disciplinary measures including possible removal from trials, for judges found to be involved in the scandal.

Kim’s apology comes only one day after former Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae was indicted on more than 40 charges, including using politically-sensitive trials as bargaining chips to win the support of previous President Park Geun-hye administration for his project to establish a separate appellate court.

Prosecutors also indicted two other retired top justices Park Byong-dae and Ko Young-han for their alleged involvement in the case.

Meanwhile, Kim expressed concerns over objections to the recent court ruling that put South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo behind bars, saying that trials of former court administrators shouldn't lead to public mistrust for other rulings.