High Court Judge Appointed as Chief Research Judge
Chief Justice Cho Shows Determination to Strengthen Criminal Affairs
The Supreme Court has additionally assigned three judicial research judges to the Criminal New Case Division. Following the establishment of the Chief Research Judge position in the Criminal New Case Division for the first time last year, this year the number of judicial research judges has been increased. This personnel move is interpreted as an effort to strengthen the management of criminal appeal cases.
According to comprehensive reporting by Law Times, it has been confirmed that the Supreme Court increased the number of judicial research judges in the Criminal New Case Division by three in the division of duties applied from the 24th. The Chief Research Judge of the Criminal New Case Division this year is Choi Moon-su (45, Judicial Research and Training Institute Class 36), a former High Court judge at the Seoul High Court, newly appointed as a research judge. Nam Woo-hyun (46, Class 35), who moved from being a High Court judge at the Seoul High Court to the first Chief Research Judge of the Criminal New Case Division last year, is reported to have moved to an exclusive assignment.
The Chief Research Judge position in the Supreme Court’s Criminal New Case Division was created for the first time last year. The Supreme Court’s Research Judge Office has operated a ‘two-chief’ system for civil cases, with Chief Research Judges assigned to both the New Case Division and the In-depth Division. In contrast, criminal cases have been managed with one Chief Research Judge for the In-depth Division and one head of the New Case Division. The head of the New Case Division is usually the research judge in their third year, which is typically the final year of their term.
Since the introduction of the dual judicial personnel system separating appointments for the High Courts and District Courts, a High Court judge was appointed as a Supreme Court judicial research judge for the first time during the regular court personnel reshuffle in February 2023. Last year, one High Court judge moved to the judicial research judge position, and this year three High Court judges have taken up the role.
In legal circles, this personnel move is seen as reflecting the Supreme Court’s determination to ‘strengthen the substance of criminal appeal trials.’ Furthermore, the appointment of a High Court judge as Chief Research Judge of the Criminal New Case Division is analyzed as taking into account their experience handling criminal appeal cases in the criminal division of the High Court. A presiding judge who previously served as a judicial research judge commented, “Following last year, this move shows Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae’s intention to continue strengthening the Supreme Court’s criminal affairs.”
Park Soo-yeon, Law Times Reporter
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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