[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A total of 135 legal professionals, including lawyers affiliated with law firms and institutions as well as prosecutors, have been appointed as new judges.
On the 5th, Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo, at the appointment ceremony held at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, urged, "Please always keep in mind the issues and improvements you have considered through direct experience of court trials in various fields as you perform your duties as judges."
Chief Justice Kim said, "As the tendency to resolve conflicts by relying on the judiciary increases, there have been concerning incidents where the contents of rulings are distorted and spread because the trial results differ from what was desired, or baseless suspicions are raised against judges, undermining trust in the fairness of trials," adding, "To firmly protect the independence of trials and boldly declare justice, one must have an indomitable will and a sense of mission."
Among the new judges, women (72) outnumber men (63), and graduates of law schools (81) outnumber those who completed the Judicial Research and Training Institute (54). The average age is 34.9 years, with 71 individuals aged between 30 and 34. Their alma maters were Seoul National University (41), Korea University (22), Yonsei University (19), Sungkyunkwan University (15), Ewha Womans University (7), and Korean National Police University (5), in that order.
By professional background, lawyers accounted for the largest number with 86. Those from Kim & Chang (19) make up 14.1% of all new judges, followed by Sejong (6), Bae, Kim & Lee (4), HwaWoo (4), Daeryook Aju (3), Kwangjang (2), and Yulchon (1). In-house lawyers from Samsung C&T, Shinsegae Construction, LG Electronics, and Shinhan Bank totaled 7, an increase from 4 last year. There are 11 former public defenders and 11 former judicial research fellows from various courts.
The number of former prosecutors is 18, the highest ever. The new judges will undergo training at the Judicial Research and Training Institute and are scheduled to be assigned as judges to frontline courts in March next year.
The establishment of an integrated legal profession system, which selects judges from among lawyers with a certain level of experience, is a key policy of Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo. This aims to increase diversity within the courts by moving away from the career judge system, which appointed legal professionals who completed the Judicial Research and Training Institute directly as judges.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
