Yoon Joon, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court, Retires... "If Trust in the Court Had Been Firm, the Seobu District Court Riot Would Not Have Been Attempted"

Yoon Concludes Judicial Career, Retires on the 7th
Shares Thoughts on Seoul Western District Court Disturbance
"The Fairness of Trials and Political Neutrality of Judges Are the Foundation of the Court's Existence"
Advises: "Judicial System Must Be Improved and Developed with a 30- to 50-Year Perspective"

Yoon Joon (16th Judicial Research and Training Institute class), Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court, expressed regret regarding the collective disturbance incident at the Seoul Western District Court as he concluded his 35-year judicial career, stating that if the faith in the fairness of trials and political neutrality had been as solid as a rock, such an incident would not have even been conceivable.

On the 7th, during his retirement ceremony held at the Seoul High Court, Chief Judge Yoon said in his farewell speech, "The fairness of trials and the political neutrality of judges are the foundation of our existence and the reason for our being." He added, "Whenever the fairness of trials and the political neutrality of judges are shaken, external forces such as political circles inevitably exploit the gap, using plausible justifications to shake the court, sometimes causing discord between the court and the public, and even among judges themselves."

Referring to the collective disturbance incident at the Seoul Western District Court, he said, "I wonder if such an event would have dared to happen if the public's trust and love for the court had been firm. If the belief in the fairness of trials and political neutrality had been as solid as a rock, such an incident would not have even been conceivable."

He also offered advice on the future of the judiciary. He stated, "If the court turns a blind eye to changes in the world, it will fall behind and be shunned by the public. We must keep pace with societal changes and look ahead 30 to 50 years to further improve and develop trial procedures, appellate structures, human resource allocation, and civil complaint systems."

Yoon, the son of the late Yoon Kwan, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was appointed as a judge at the Gangneung Branch of the Chuncheon District Court in 1990. He later served as a judge at the Seoul High Court, a judicial research judge at the Supreme Court, a professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, secretary to Chief Justice Lee Yong-hoon, chief judge at the Seoul High Court, president of the Suwon District Court, and president of the Gwangju High Court.