Court Budget Officer 'Chief of Judicial Registration Bureau' Returns to Judge... Appointment of Chief Judge Lee Guk-hyun

A judge has been reappointed as the Director of the Judicial Registration Bureau at the Court Administration Office, which is responsible for court budget affairs.

The Supreme Court appointed Lee Guk-hyun (47, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 32, photo), Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court, as the Director of the Judicial Registration Bureau of the Court Administration Office on June 24. The appointment date is July 15.

[Image source=Beomryul Newspaper]

After former Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo pushed for the removal of judges from the Court Administration Office following the 'Judicial Administration Power Abuse Allegation' incident, the number of full-time judges in the office gradually decreased: 10 in 2019, 6 in 2020, and 5 in 2021. During this process, the Director of the Judicial Registration Bureau was also changed to a general civil servant.

Within the judiciary, concerns have been raised that securing the judiciary's budget has become difficult, indicating a need for improvement. The Director of the Judicial Registration Bureau also handles budget affairs within the Administration Office. It is known that the director participates in the Budget Deliberation Committee directly under the Court Administration Chief.

Regarding this appointment, opinions suggest that it reflects Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's determination to expand the judiciary's budget.

At a meeting between judges and staff held last month at the Seoul High Court, Chief Justice Cho stated, "In recent years, the judiciary's share of the national budget has decreased from 0.43% to 0.33%. The reduction in the judiciary's budget coincides with a significant increase in long-term unresolved cases, making budget cuts a major cause of trial delays. Therefore, we will continue to make greater efforts to secure the budget through ongoing consultations with related agencies."

Prior to this, Chief Justice Cho increased the number of full-time judges in the Administration Office by seven through the first organizational restructuring and personnel appointments in January.

Judges were appointed to positions including the Director of Judicial Informatization and the Informatization Planning Officer, and one each to the Civil Support Officer, Criminal Support Officer, Special Support Officer, and Personnel Officer. Additionally, after four years since the 2020 regular court personnel appointments, the Public Relations Officer position, previously held by a general civil servant, was assigned to a judge.

Park Su-yeon, Legal Times Reporter

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.