As the phenomenon of judges avoiding criminal divisions becomes more pronounced, it has been confirmed that Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's court has increased the performance bonuses paid to judges working in criminal divisions.
The Court Administration Office pays judges performance bonuses twice a year, and in September, judges belonging to the criminal division were paid performance bonuses higher than before. The payment amount varies by judge depending on years of service, but it is reported that the amount paid was about twice as much as before.
According to the Court Administration Office, the amount of performance bonuses paid to individual judges is determined by the Performance Bonus Deliberation Committee in accordance with the "Regulations on Allowances for Judges and Court Officials." The "2024 Second Half Performance Bonus Deliberation Committee" resolved the payment amounts for individual judges and decided on additional performance bonuses for judges working in criminal trial divisions.
This is interpreted as a result of reflecting the suggestions collected by Chief Justice Cho during his visits to courts at various levels in the first half of this year, as well as the "Survey on Measures Considering the Fairness for Judges Working in Criminal Trial Divisions" conducted by the Judicial Support Office of the Court Administration Office in April targeting all judges. It reflects various opinions emphasizing the need to strengthen compensation for judges working in criminal trial divisions.
In particular, when Chief Justice Cho visited courts nationwide, it is known that voices expressing the need to enhance fairness for judges working in criminal trial divisions were strong on site. The survey was also prepared with the intention of gathering frontline judges' opinions on the expanding tendency to avoid criminal trial divisions and devising improvement measures. The survey questions included the necessity of △ consideration in task allocation, △ the need for performance bonuses or work expense payments for judges working in criminal trial divisions, as well as whether △ favorable reflection on assignments during personnel transfers and △ relatively more opportunities for short-term overseas training or business trips should be given.
The avoidance of criminal divisions has become more pronounced not only because the workload has increased due to the diversification of legal issues but also because criminal cases, which attract significant social attention, focus public interest on hearings and verdicts, and even lead to so-called "digging into judges' personal information." In particular, since the revision of the "Regulations on Task Allocation and Case Assignment for Judges, etc." in February, the minimum task allocation period has been extended to three years for presiding judges and two years for non-presiding judges, thereby lengthening the task allocation period. As a result, there have been calls within the court for differential compensation for less preferred positions such as criminal trials.
The judges' response is positive. Although the amount cannot be considered large due to budget limitations, it is meaningful in terms of consideration and compensation for the efforts of judges in criminal divisions. There is also analysis that the budget should be further expanded in the future.
A judge at a high court working in the criminal division said, "I did not expect the incentive policy for criminal division judges to be reflected so quickly. Some may feel there is not much difference just by looking at the amount, but receiving the increased performance bonus considering various aspects has brought vitality."
The Court Administration Office is also reviewing incentive policies for judges working in criminal divisions. An official from the Administration Office stated, "We are researching and reviewing measures to ensure that judges who have been in charge of criminal trials for a long time are given consideration in subsequent task allocations."
Park Su-yeon, Legal Times Reporter
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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