Supreme Court Appoints Senior Judges at High Court Chief Judge Level... Seoul High Court Chief Judge Kim Gwang-tae and Central District Court Chief Judge Seong Ji-yong

From the left, Kim Kwang-tae, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court, and Sung Ji-yong, Chief Judge of Seoul Central District Court.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Kim Kwang-tae, Chief Judge of Daejeon High Court, has been appointed as Chief Judge of Seoul High Court, and Sung Ji-yong, Chief Judge of Chuncheon District Court, as Chief Judge of Seoul Central District Court. Kim Hyung-doo, Senior Judge of Seoul High Court, was appointed as Deputy Chief of the Court Administration Office, and lawyer Lee Jun was nominated as the first open-type Ethics Auditor.

The Supreme Court conducted appointments and transfers of 19 chief judges and senior judges of high courts on the 28th, effective from the 9th of next month.

Additionally, on the 22nd of next month, appointments were made for 2 chief judges, including the Chief Judges of Daegu Family Court and Gwangju Family Court.

Following the abolition of the senior judge position at high courts due to the amendment of the Court Organization Act in March last year, the Supreme Court revised the Judicial Personnel Rules to allow high court judges with certain experience to qualify as deputy chief judges of high courts, thereby lifting the previous acting senior judge appointments.

Furthermore, to strengthen the independence and expertise of the court's ethics audit function, lawyer Lee was appointed to the newly established political position of Ethics Auditor in March last year.

The Supreme Court transferred Kim Kwang-tae, Chief Judge of Daejeon High Court, to Chief Judge of Seoul High Court; appointed Lee Gyun-yong, Senior Judge of Seoul High Court, as Chief Judge of Daejeon High Court; Kim Chan-don, Senior Judge of Daegu High Court, as Chief Judge of Daegu High Court; Park Hyo-kwan, Senior Judge of Busan High Court, as Chief Judge of Busan High Court; and Jung Jong-kwan, Senior Judge of Seoul High Court, as Chief Judge of Suwon High Court.

Also, Kim Hyung-doo, Senior Judge of Seoul High Court, was appointed Deputy Chief of the Court Administration Office; Sung Ji-yong, Chief Judge of Chuncheon District Court, as Chief Judge of Seoul Central District Court; Seo Kyung-hwan, Senior Judge of Seoul High Court, as Chief Judge of Seoul Rehabilitation Court; Kim Yong-chul, Senior Judge of Seoul Southern District Court, as Chief Judge of Seoul Southern District Court; and Kim Han-sung, Chief Senior Judge of Seoul Northern District Court, as Chief Judge of Seoul Northern District Court.

The Supreme Court stated, "In this personnel move, six incumbent chief judges returned to high court benches, and two incumbent chief judges were designated as 'Senior Judges' by the Judicial Personnel Committee upon their request and transferred to first-instance courts."

Kim In-gyeom, Deputy Chief of the Court Administration Office, was transferred as Chief Judge of Seoul Family Court. Seo Kyung-hee, Senior Judge of Daegu District Court, was appointed Chief Judge of Daegu Family Court; Han Young-pyo, Senior Judge of Busan District Court, as Chief Judge of Busan Family Court; and Kim Gwi-ok, Senior Judge of Suwon District Court, as Chief Judge of Gwangju Family Court, all effective from the 22nd of next month.

Kim Chang-bo, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court, and Park Byung-chil, Chief Judge of Gwangju District Court, were designated as Senior Judges and transferred to positions as Senior Judges at Seoul Central District Court and Jeonju District Court Gunsan Branch, respectively.