Inquiry to the Administrative Office by the National Judges' Representative Meeting... "Personnel Considering Preferences"
Ham Seokcheon and Jung Sooyoung Elected as Chair and Vice-Chair of This Year's Representative Meeting
Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo is delivering a greeting at the 2022 First Half Nationwide Judges Regular Meeting held at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of the 11th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The Supreme Court has responded to the National Judges' Representative Meeting that the recent regular personnel appointments do not violate personnel principles.
The National Judges' Representative Meeting held the '2022 First Half Regular Meeting' from 10 a.m. on the 11th and received reports on inquiries related to judicial personnel appointments submitted to the Court Administration Office.
The National Judges' Representative Meeting previously inquired of the Administration Office about ▲whether appointing a district court chief judge who served as an institution head immediately to a financial court aligns with existing personnel standards ▲whether serving as an institution head for more than two years complies with personnel standards ▲whether there are personnel standards for reappointing a judge who has served as a support chief judge ▲and the reason for nominating a new chief judge of Incheon District Court without a vote when the incumbent's term had one year remaining.
In response, the Administration Office explained, "Personnel appointments are conducted according to the principle of regional rotation for district court chief judges, and different personnel principles are not applied based on whether one is an institution head. The pointed-out appointments do not violate general principles and were made considering the manpower supply and demand situation of the year and the individual judges' personnel preferences."
Regarding the appointment of the Incheon District Court chief judge, they replied, "Since the former Incheon District Court chief judge expressed their intention to resign just before the regular personnel appointments, it was difficult to go through the chief judge recommendation process in time."
Although there was an agenda to discuss the 'Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Authority (Geomsu Wanbak)' bill promoted by the Democratic Party of Korea, it was reportedly not tabled as the judge who proposed it expressed a desire to withdraw it.
Some have criticized the personnel appointments made in February this year, alleging favoritism by placing close associates, such as members of the International Human Rights Law Research Association close to Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo, in key positions.
At the meeting, 117 out of 123 judge representatives elected from courts nationwide attended either online or offline. At the meeting, Judge Ham Seok-cheon of Daejeon District Court was recommended as the chair candidate of this year's Judges' Representative Meeting, and Judge Jeong Soo-young, chief judge of Chuncheon District Court, was recommended as the vice-chair candidate, both elected by majority vote.
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