[Policy Pulse] Hoping for Judicial Reform That Serves the People

Judicial Delays Have Become the Norm
A System That Prioritizes Public Welfare Over Politics

When I was a rookie prosecutor, I heard something from my senior prosecutors: "Criminal justice has two main goals-speed and accuracy. If you have to choose one, swift case handling is more important. Delaying case processing deprives victims of the chance to seek remedies through other procedures."

For prosecutors who considered postponing case processing a disgrace, this was a professional calling that everyone upheld. The number of "cases exceeding three months" left unresolved was even reflected in personnel evaluations.

These days, such traditions and practices seem to be a thing of the distant past. People who have recently experienced filing complaints or lawsuits all express the same frustration: they cannot predict when their cases will be resolved and are left waiting indefinitely.

This trend is also evident in statistics. In 2017, the average time to reach a verdict in first-instance civil panel cases was 293 days, but by 2024, it had increased to about 437 days. For first-instance criminal panel cases, the period increased from about 150 days in 2017 to about 199 days in 2024, representing a delay of nearly 31%.

The delays in criminal case investigations by prosecutors and police are even more severe. During a recent visit for a hearing, a senior prosecutor in the criminal division pointed to the stacks of case files filling his office and sighed, saying that it was physically impossible to process all these cases swiftly.

How did things come to this? In the past, Korea’s judicial system was once renowned worldwide for its remarkable efficiency.

What many do not realize is that the effective functioning of the judicial system was underpinned by the pride of judges and prosecutors, and their willingness to sacrifice family life by working late nights and overtime without hesitation.

Of course, there were also downsides. Issues included excessive collective elitism, political bias in certain cases, and human rights violations in the pursuit of efficiency or results. However, I believe that the advantages and positive functions outweighed the drawbacks or side effects, and that such a system at least helped protect the livelihoods of ordinary citizens.

There is an English proverb: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." If something works properly, leave it alone; only fix what is broken.

Nevertheless, the political sphere has failed to objectively assess the strengths and weaknesses of our judicial system. Instead, it has focused solely on alleged bias in certain political cases, dividing people into "us versus them," and has been preoccupied with weakening the power of judicial institutions while ignoring efficiency. Excessive stigmatization of the courts and judges, radical changes to the criminal justice system such as stripping the prosecution of investigative authority, and frequent personnel changes have inflicted irreparable harm on the pride and morale of judges and prosecutors, the very foundation of the judicial system.

As numerous special investigation teams are formed for political cases and trials are dominated by such cases, civil cases affecting ordinary people have long been pushed aside. The number of judges and prosecutors on the front lines, handling everyday matters unrelated to politics, has steadily declined.

Punitive institutional reforms and pressure on the courts and prosecution have led to the weakening of judicial and investigative powers, and ultimately, it is the public who will suffer. However, such arguments have been dismissed as mere complaints from those seeking to protect their vested interests.

In particular, amendments to criminal law that strip the prosecution of investigative authority have weakened the balance of power and mutual checks between prosecutors and police, made accountability unclear, and are now resulting in delayed cases and declining quality of investigations, as many had feared.

Now, the second round of judicial reform has begun: reforming the courts and abolishing the prosecution, with investigative authority to be transferred to a new Major Crimes Investigation Agency. Is it too much to ask that we seriously consider, from the public's perspective, what inconveniences these new systems might bring for ordinary people?

Lee Dongyeol, Managing Attorney at Lawbacks (former Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office)