Court Implements Measures to Support Special Prosecutor Trials
Adjusts Assignment of General Cases for Special Prosecutor Panels
Launches Trial Broadcast Preparation Team
The Seoul Central District Court is preparing measures to support trials, including increasing the number of judges, to ensure swift and fair proceedings in cases indicted by the three special prosecutors (Insurrection, Kim Keonhee, and Chae Sangbyeong).
On the 18th, the Seoul Central District Court announced through a press release, "Starting from the 20th, an additional judge will be assigned to the Criminal Division 25 (Presiding Judge Ji Guyoun)," adding, "The newly assigned judge will handle general cases in Criminal Division 25." This measure is intended to reduce the caseload of the three current judges, including the presiding judge, so they can focus on the special prosecutor trials.
Currently, Criminal Division 25 is handling multiple insurrection cases, including the trial of former President Yoon Sukyeol on charges of leading an insurrection, as well as general cases.
The Seoul Central District Court has also adopted a system to ease the workload of divisions handling special prosecutor cases by assigning a heavier weight to such cases. For every special prosecutor case assigned, five general cases will not be assigned in the future. This policy applies retroactively to both newly filed and currently ongoing cases.
In addition, the court is increasing staff for the division handling special prosecutor cases, including participation officers, clerks, stenographers, and court bailiffs, and has requested the National Court Administration to increase the number of judges to allow for the expansion of criminal panels.
The Seoul Central District Court stated, "There is currently a shortage of criminal courtrooms in the courthouse, and construction of one additional medium-sized criminal courtroom is underway, with completion targeted for the first half of next year," adding, "Once this project is completed, we expect the shortage of courtrooms to be somewhat alleviated."
Furthermore, the Seoul High Court and the Central District Court have formed the 'Seoul Court Complex Trial Broadcast Preparation Team' to prepare for trial broadcasts in accordance with the Special Prosecutor Act, and are currently requesting budgets for relevant departments and securing broadcast equipment and personnel. According to the Special Prosecutor Act, trials of cases indicted by special prosecutors may be made public and broadcast.
The Central District Court added, "In addition to these measures, we will continue to seek various ways to ensure swift and fair trials."
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