Supreme Court Justice Park Youngjae Appointed as New Chief Judge of the National Court Administration

Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae Appoints Park Youngjae as New Chief Judge of the National Court Administration

On January 13, Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae appointed Supreme Court Justice Park Youngjae (57, 22nd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute) as the new Chief Judge of the National Court Administration. The Chief Judge of the National Court Administration is a key position in the judiciary, overseeing personnel and budget matters for courts nationwide, with a two-year term.

Park Youngjae, the newly appointed Chief Judge, is originally from Busan and graduated from Baejeong High School and the Department of Law at Seoul National University. He passed the 32nd National Judicial Examination in 1990 and first donned judicial robes in 1996 as a judge at the Seoul District Court Eastern Branch. Since then, he has served as a judge at the Seoul District Court, Daejeon District Court, Daejeon High Court, as Personnel Officer and Personnel Review Officer at the National Court Administration, Presiding Judge at the Suncheon Branch of the Gwangju District Court, professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, Chief Planning and Coordination Officer at the National Court Administration, Presiding Judge at the Seoul Central District Court, Presiding Judge at the Busan High Court and Seoul High Court, Director of Planning and Coordination at the National Court Administration, and Deputy Chief Judge.

In August 2024, he was appointed as a Supreme Court Justice upon the recommendation of Chief Justice Cho. In April last year, Park served as the presiding justice in the Supreme Court appeal trial of President Lee Jaemyung's Public Official Election Act case. This case, in which Lee was acquitted on appeal, was assigned to the Supreme Court's second division and then immediately referred to the full bench. On May 1 of the same year, the full bench overturned the previous verdict and remanded the case for retrial, citing a guilty verdict. The retrial has been indefinitely postponed due to President Lee's election as president.

Chief Judge Park will assume his new post on January 16. Current Chief Judge Cheon Daeyeob will return to judicial duties and is expected to serve until his six-year term as Supreme Court Justice ends in May next year.