[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Prominent judges including Seo Kyung-hwan, Chief Judge of Seoul Bankruptcy Court, Lee Seung-ryeon, Presiding Judge of Seoul High Court, and Ham Sang-hoon, Presiding Judge of Seoul High Court, have been named as candidates for Supreme Court Justice.
The Supreme Court announced on the 22nd that it has published the list of 17 candidates for Supreme Court Justice on its website. Previously, from August 28 for ten days, the Supreme Court accepted recommendations for candidates to succeed Justice Lee Ki-taek, whose term ends on September 17.
Out of 43 recommended individuals, 17 agreed to be screened. On this day, the Supreme Court disclosed information on the 17 candidates who consented to screening, including their educational background, major career history, assets, military service, and criminal records. Among the 17 candidates, 14 are judges, 2 are lawyers, and 1 is a professor. There are 2 female candidates.
Chief Judge Seo is well known for leading the institutionalization of the National Judges' Representative Meeting. From 2014 to 2015, he presided over the second trial of the Sewol ferry incident at the Gwangju High Court, sentencing Captain Lee Jun-seok to life imprisonment by recognizing murder charges. In February, he was also included among the 15 candidates to succeed Justice Park Sang-ok.
Presiding Judge Lee of the Seoul High Court is currently presiding over the second trial of Jung Kyung-shim, a professor at Dongyang University and wife of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. He is also handling cases such as the bribery case involving former Busan Deputy Mayor Yoo Jae-soo.
Presiding Judge Ham of the Seoul High Court, who sentenced Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo to two years in prison in the second trial, is also included in the candidate list. Presiding Judge Son Bong-gi of Daegu District Court is also on the list. He mainly served as a judge in the Daegu and Ulsan regions and was among the three candidates to succeed Justice Park Sang-ok.
The female candidates include Oh Kyung-mi, a High Court judge at the Jeonju branch of the Gwangju High Court, and Shin Sook-hee, a High Court judge at the Changwon branch of the Busan High Court.
The Supreme Court plans to receive public opinions on the candidates who consented to screening from the 23rd of this month until the 6th of next month. Any citizen or organization of the Republic of Korea can submit opinions.
The Supreme Court Justice Recommendation Committee will select three or more candidates for nomination as Supreme Court Justices based on the collected opinions.
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