Democratic Party's '10th Talent', Former Judge Itanhee Who Exposed Judicial Farming Scandal

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The Democratic Party of Korea has recruited former judge Lee Tan-hee, who exposed the judicial corruption allegations of the Yang Seung-tae judiciary, as its 10th talent for the April 15 general election.

On the afternoon of the 19th, the Democratic Party held a talent recruitment ceremony at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, announcing the recruitment of former judge Lee. The event was attended by Lee Hae-chan, the chairman of the Democratic Party's talent recruitment committee, along with nine other recruits.

Former judge Lee graduated from the 34th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute in 2005 and was appointed as a judge in March 2008. During his tenure, he gained attention by being selected three times as an outstanding judge by local bar associations, an unusual achievement for a single judge.

In 2017, he was appointed as a deliberator at the Court Administration Office, a promotion path typically leading to a high court chief judge position. However, upon discovering documents related to the so-called 'judiciary blacklist' and a 'dismantling plan' targeting the International Human Rights Law Research Association, a human rights research group within the court, he submitted his resignation. Although his resignation was rejected, this incident eventually led to the arrest of former Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae and became a catalyst for judicial reform.

Subsequently, he organized a preparatory meeting for the National Judges' Representative Conference, aiming to oppose the forces concealing judicial corruption within the court. After former Chief Justice Yang was arrested, he submitted his resignation again and later worked as a lawyer at the public interest human rights law foundation 'Gonggam,' which operates solely on donations without charging legal fees.

He was appointed as a member of the Ministry of Justice's 2nd Legal and Prosecutorial Reform Committee, leading the announcement of recommendations for court and prosecutorial reforms 11 times. For these activities, he received the 'People's Solidarity Hero Award' in 2018 and the 'Roh Hoe-chan Justice Award' in 2019.

On the day of the event, former judge Lee stated, "Only by creating a judicial reform organization that includes social third parties can reforms for ordinary people be possible," adding, "I will dedicate myself to the task of judicial reform and work with the people to create a society where ordinary justice is realized."

Representative Lee also expressed his welcome, saying, "I believe he is a great talent who can work with our party on judicial reform," and added, "Although there will be many difficulties in party activities, the party will do its best to help former judge Lee achieve good results."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.