Yoon Joon, Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court (Judicial Research and Training Institute Class 16), submitted his resignation ahead of the nationwide regular judicial personnel reshuffle scheduled for early next month. It has been confirmed that some high court judges, who play a central role in the judiciary, have also submitted their resignations.
According to the legal community on the 3rd, Chief Judge Yoon recently submitted his resignation to the Supreme Court. Yoon is the eldest son of the late Yoon Kwan, former Supreme Court Justice, and was listed as a candidate for Supreme Court Justice two years ago as a successor to Justices Cho Jae-yeon and Park Jung-hwa.
Additionally, Kang Seung-jun, Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court (Class 20), and Kim Kyung-ran (Class 23), Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court, also recently submitted their resignations. Chief Judge Kang, a member of the 'Civil Case Precedent Research Association,' was appointed as a judge at the Seoul Civil District Court and has held key positions such as Personnel Officer 1 and 3 at the Court Administration Office, Chief Judge of the 51st Civil Division at the Seoul Central District Court, and Senior Professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, making him a representative elite judge.
Chief Judge Kim was appointed as a judge at the Seoul Civil District Court and is regarded as an elite judge who has served as a Supreme Court Judicial Researcher and Chief Judge at the Seoul Administrative Court.
Within the legal community, there are concerns that the wave of resignations among high court chief judges may intensify ahead of the nationwide regular judicial personnel reshuffle. It is pointed out that due to the 'court chief voting' system during former Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo's tenure, which effectively blocked high court chief judges from advancing to court chief positions, many capable high court chief judges are leaving in large numbers.
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