Former Supreme Court Justice Kim Sunsu, Former Minbyun President: "Increasing First-Instance Judges Is More Urgent Than Adding Supreme Court Justices"

Kim Sunsu, Former Supreme Court Justice from Minbyun, Contributes to Law Times
"Increase Lower Court Judges to Raise Acceptance Rate"
"'Judicial Complaint' System Would Create Four Instances... Violates Current Constitution"

Kim Sunsu, former Supreme Court Justice, delivering his retirement speech on August 1, 2024. Supreme Court

Kim Sunsu, former president of the progressive lawyers' group Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) and former Supreme Court Justice appointed on the recommendation of former Chief Justice Kim Myeongsu, expressed his opposition to increasing the number of Supreme Court justices. He stated, "This move runs counter to the fundamental direction of court reform, which is to strengthen lower courts," and argued, "The urgent priority is to increase the number of first-instance judges." The Law Times reported on the 12th on Kim's contribution titled "Observations on Court Reform Plans, Promotion Structure, and Timeline."

Kim said, "From the public's perspective, it is most desirable to resolve disputes by accepting the result of a single trial, and this is also the most efficient approach for society as a whole. The rate at which parties accept court decisions is proportional to the amount of time judges devote to each case. To increase the time judges can spend on each case, we need to increase the number of judges. From this perspective, increasing the number of lower court judges, especially first-instance judges, is an urgent priority."

Regarding the ruling party's push to increase the number of Supreme Court justices, he commented, "While it could be argued that maintaining the 14-justice system for 38 years has not kept pace with social changes, it could also be seen as having settled on an appropriate size through much trial and error."

He added, "If the number of justices is increased, there are concerns about confusion and trial delays due to frequent confirmation hearings and appointment delays. There is also doubt as to whether deploying an excessive number of justices, who hold ministerial rank, is a desirable and efficient use of personnel from a societal perspective. For each additional Supreme Court justice, at least two dedicated judicial researchers, one secretary, three administrative officers, and one assistant would need to be added based on current standards."

Seoul Seocho District Supreme Court building. Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding the proposal to open Supreme Court justice appointments to non-lawyers, Kim said, "In fact, the qualifications for Supreme Court justices should require more years of legal service and a higher age than lower court judges, rather than being expanded to non-lawyers." He further stated, "Expanding eligibility to non-lawyers is not the only way to achieve diversity in the composition of the Supreme Court." On the proposed revision to the Constitutional Court Act that would introduce the 'judicial complaint' system, he argued, "Introducing such a system by amending only the Constitutional Court Act under the current Constitution is unconstitutional," and pointed out, "Our Constitution clearly establishes the Supreme Court as the highest court."

Kim warned, "(The judicial complaint system) would in effect introduce a four-instance trial system, forcing parties to endure another round of litigation instead of resolving disputes in three instances. Only the powerful and wealthy, who can afford the costs, would benefit." He continued, "Reform tasks should be approached in stages, distinguishing between short-term and mid-to-long-term goals." He suggested that short-term reforms should be legislated within six months after the establishment of a special court reform committee, while mid-to-long-term tasks should involve submitting draft bills within six months and completing legislation within six months to a year.

According to Yonhap News, Kim Sunsu placed first in the 27th bar exam but chose to become a lawyer. He began his career at the Citizens' Public Interest Law Office of the late Cho Youngrae, a renowned "human rights lawyer," and went on to become a leading labor and human rights attorney. He was a founding member and president of Minbyun. During the administration of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, he served as secretary for judicial reform, leading the practical work of judicial reform for the Participatory Government. Under former President Moon Jae-in, he was appointed Supreme Court Justice on the recommendation of former Chief Justice Kim Myeongsu and served from August 2018 to 2024.