Seoul Bar Association Selects 70 Outstanding Judges... Including Next Central District Court Chief Candidate

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Seoul Bar Association announced the results of the '2022 Judge Evaluation' on the 5th.

According to the Seoul Bar Association, 1,769 member lawyers participated in the evaluation. To ensure reliability, only data from judges evaluated by five or more lawyers were compiled. As a result, the average score of 850 judges was 81.80 points (out of 100), an increase of 2.4 points compared to last year (79.40 points).

Among them, 70 judges who scored above 95 points on average were selected as outstanding judges. The average score of the outstanding judges was 97.13 points. These judges received high praise for impartial trials, providing sufficient opportunities for evidence presentation, thorough trial preparation, and active communication. The highest-rated judge was Judge Kwon Bo-won of the Hongseong Branch of Daejeon District Court, who received a perfect average score of 100 points. Chief Judge Kim Jong-woo of the Seoul High Court, Judge Kwon Young-hye of the Seoul Central District Court, and Judge Bang Hye-mi of the Seoul Northern District Court were selected as outstanding judges for two consecutive years, following last year. Chief Judge Han Kyu-hyun of the Seoul High Court was also recognized as an outstanding judge this year, following 2010 and 2020. Kim Jung-joong, Senior Civil Judge 2 and a candidate for the next chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, was also selected as an outstanding judge.

The Seoul Bar Association designated the 13 judges with the lowest average scores among those evaluated by 10 or more lawyers as lower-tier judges. The average score of the lower-tier judges was 61.41 points. Reasons for the low scores included high-handed behavior, arbitrary and unreasonable litigation management, and conducting trials in a condescending manner. The Seoul Bar Association plans to notify all judges evaluated by five or more lawyers of their average scores and rankings. The evaluation results will also be communicated to the Court Administration Office and the chief judges of the respective courts to which each judge belongs.