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Representatives of judges nationwide gathered on June 11 at the Judicial Research and Training Institute (JRTI) in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss administrative and criminal procedures regarding alleged judicial abuses under former Supreme Court chief just Yang Sung-tae. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)
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Current Supreme Court chief justice still delaying decision
Judges at a national conference held on June 11 to discuss judicial misconduct during Yang Sung-tae’s tenure as Supreme Court Chief Justice declared the need for an “investigation where nothing is off limits, including criminal procedures” and a “thorough assignment of responsibility.” With the judges agreeing on the need for “criminal procedures” – in other words, an investigation by prosecutors – many are now watching to see what decision current Chief Justice Kim Myeong-soo makes in handling the case. The council, chaired by Seoul Bukbu District Court presiding judge Choi Gi-sang, approved the “Judges’ Council Declaration on the Abuse of Judicial Administrative Authority Incident” at an ad hoc meeting convened that day at the Judicial Research and Training Institute (JRTI) in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, with 115 of 119 nationwide judges’ representatives in attendance. Characterizing the incident as one of “abuses of judicial administration powers,” the judges said, “We are acutely aware of our responsibility as judges and bow our heads in apologies to you, the public.” “We are deeply concerned about the damage that has been done to the public’s trust in fair trials as sovereigns and to the Constitutional value of judges’ independence,” they added. “There must be an investigation into this incident where nothing is off limits, including criminal procedures, and a thorough assignment of responsibility,” the judges asserted. “We vow to swiftly implement fundamental and effective measures to ensure that abuse of judicial administrative powers do not occur again,” they continued. Song Seung-yong, a Suwon District Court presiding judge in charge of public relations for the council, explained that “criminal procedures” was a “reference to investigations and trials.” “As we generally agreed that only so much could be expected from an investigation by the judiciary, there was discussion of ruling out criminal procedures,” he added. At the same time, Song said the judges’ “general opinion was that it would be inappropriate for the Supreme Court Chief Justice to make the accusation himself.” “There have already been numerous complaints and accusations made [by civic groups and others], and [it was agreed that] there is no need for an addition accusation by the courts,” he explained. During the discussions, some attendees echoed the senior judges claims that there had been “no abuses of judicial administration authority as such,” but most agreed on the need for an investigation to bring to light the facts regarding judicial misconduct, sources said. While some observers had raised the possibility of a parliamentary audit, the discussions reportedly did not include solutions beyond an investigation by prosecutors. “[A parliamentary audit] is not included in the category of ‘criminal procedures,’” a source noted. A two-hour Q&A session with judicial representatives also took place at the council meeting that day, with National Court Administration ethics inspector Kim Heung-joon – a member of the special investigation team that investigated the allegations of abuses of judicial administration authority – appearing to explain the reason Yang Sung-tae was not questioned and the team’s conclusion that there were “no clear charges.” “It was an ad hoc investigation without legal force, so we were unable to bring all of the facts to light,” Kim was reported as saying. Judges’ representatives also read four undisclosed documents in the process, including one titled “MINBYUN Response Strategy.” With the National Court Administration refusing to disclose all but 98 of the 410 documents implicated in the judicial misconduct case, a decision was made to discuss their examination at another council meeting to take place next month. By Kim Min-kyoung, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
