Asia-Pacific Chief Justices to Gather in Seoul in 2026

20th Asia-Pacific Chief Justices' Meeting Confirmed to be Held in Korea

The Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific, where chief justices from the Asia-Pacific region gather, will be held in Korea in 2026. Since Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae has consistently emphasized the importance of King Sejong's legal spirit after his inauguration, it is expected that research achievements on King Sejong's rule of law will be shared at the next Asia-Pacific Chief Justices Conference.

On the 1st (local time), Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae attended the 19th Asia-Pacific Chief Justices' Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and decided to hold the "2026 Asia-Pacific Chief Justices' Meeting" in Korea. [Image source: Provided by the Supreme Court]

On the 13th (local time), at the 19th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Korea was confirmed as the host for the 20th conference.

In his acceptance speech, Chief Justice Cho stated, "We will hold the 'Sejong International Conference' in 2025 to share research achievements on King Sejong the Great's rule of law with countries around the world, and based on those achievements, we will successfully hold the Chief Justices Conference in 2026."

Chief Justice Cho has emphasized that studying the legal spirit, including King Sejong's 'love for the people'?which involves listening to the circumstances of the people on trial and delivering fair judgments?will help realize the rule of law and justice. Last August, the Supreme Court invited writer Lee Han-woo to give a lecture titled "King Sejong the Great's Legal Thought and the Creation of Hunminjeongeum."

At this Asia-Pacific Chief Justices Conference as well, the Supreme Court produced and distributed promotional materials titled "King Sejong the Great and the Rule of Law" to delegations from various countries to publicize King Sejong's achievements. The materials included △ who King Sejong the Great was △ how King Sejong communicated with people after creating Hunminjeongeum △ King Sejong's principles of the rule of law △ and how today's rule of law principles inherit King Sejong's legacy.

The promotional materials stated, "King Sejong the Great personally presided over trials as the final judge for crimes punishable by severe penalties. He empathized with the poor and illiterate people who could not express complaints in writing and created Hangul so that all citizens could easily learn to read and write." It also noted, "King Sejong made efforts to strictly enforce laws after promulgating legal norms, guaranteed fair trials based on concrete evidence, and emphasized the importance of speedy trials to prevent delays in judgments." Additionally, it included that the Korean judiciary is systematically studying King Sejong's thoughts and achievements regarding the judicial system and seeking ways to improve the judicial system by reinterpreting his philosophy in a modern context.

The Asia-Pacific Chief Justices Conference is held every two years, gathering chief justices from countries in the Asia-Pacific region such as Australia, Japan, Singapore, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the United States to discuss each country's judicial systems, judicial cooperation measures, and current issues. The first conference was held in 1985 in Penang, Malaysia, and this year marked the 19th conference. The 8th conference in 1999 and the 14th conference in 2011 were held in Seoul.

This year's conference was held on the themes of the rule of law and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, with a total of 29 countries participating.

A Supreme Court official said, "The 20th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific will be held in Korea for the third time in 15 years, and it holds significant meaning as a large-scale international conference among heads of judiciaries in the Asia-Pacific region."

Park Su-yeon, Legal Newspaper Reporter

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