Will the Long-Standing Wish for Establishing Jeonju Family Court and Wanju County Court Be Fulfilled?

Rep. An Ho-young Introduces Amendment Bill for Establishment of Jeonju Family Court and Wanju County Court

[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho] Attention is focused on whether the establishment of Jeonju Family Court and Wanju County Court, which are Jeonbuk's long-standing wishes and will provide a higher level of judicial services, will become visible.

Rep. Ahn Ho-young (Wanju, Jinan, Muju, Jangsu, Jeonbuk) officially proposed a partial amendment to the "Act on the Establishment and Jurisdiction of Courts of Various Levels," which includes the legal basis for establishing a family court in Jeonju, on the 26th of this month.

The partial amendment mainly aims to newly establish the Jeonju Family Court in Jeonju City and to allow the establishment of Gunsan, Jeongeup, and Namwon branches under the Jeonju Family Court.

According to Rep. Ahn, over the past 10 years (2010?2019), the Jeonju District Court, which has jurisdiction over the entire Jeollabuk-do, received 17,329 family litigation cases (an average of 1,733 cases per year), which is significantly higher compared to other regions where family courts have been established.

Furthermore, due to rapid social and family relationship changes, the demand from residents for specialized judicial services related to family trials is increasing, making the establishment of a specialized family court dedicated to family cases an urgent matter.

On the other hand, there are only four regions?Jeonbuk, Chungbuk, Gangwon, and Jeju?that still do not have family courts or have not established plans for their installation.

Previously, Rep. Ahn Ho-young also led the proposal of a partial amendment to the same law to establish a county court in Wanju County during the 20th National Assembly.

Currently, Wanju County is the only area among the 14 cities and counties in Jeollabuk-do without a court.

In particular, despite the Wanju County Office relocating from Jeonju City to Wanju County in 2012, residents have experienced inconvenience as there is no city or county court, requiring them to visit the Jeonju District Court to handle administrative matters.

The amendment proposed by Rep. Ahn focuses on establishing the Wanju County Court in Yongjin-eup, Wanju County, where the Wanju County Office is located, to improve judicial accessibility and convenience for Wanju residents regarding cases under the jurisdiction of city and county courts, such as small claims cases.

Currently, the establishment of the Wanju County Court is reported to be under thorough review by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Since the Jeonju Family Court and Wanju County Court have been consistently raised issues for improving judicial services for Jeonbuk residents, attention is focused on what results will be achieved in the 21st National Assembly.

Rep. Ahn Ho-young said, "As a lawyer with long-standing civic activities and a re-elected lawmaker, I understand better than anyone the necessity of improving judicial services for Jeonbuk residents and local citizens. I will strive to ensure that the proposed amendment is passed to provide convenience in residents' use of judicial services and to enhance the promptness of handling jurisdictional cases."

Meanwhile, Rep. Ahn, a lawyer by profession and a re-elected lawmaker, served as a member of the Judicial Reform Subcommittee of the Special Committee on Judicial Reform in the 20th National Assembly.

Jeonju=Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho stonepeak@asiae.co.kr