Court Regular Personnel Changes... Judge Song In-kwon Transferred as Presiding Judge in Jeong Gyeong-shim Trial (Comprehensive)

Appointment of Judge Ban Jeong-woo as Chief Secretary to the Chief Justice
Lee Chang-yeol appointed as Planning and Coordination Officer at the Court Administration Office
Many Experienced and Female Judges Appointed as Department Heads

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] On the 6th, Song In-gwon, chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court who was presiding over the case of Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University, moved to the Seoul Southern District Court in the regular court personnel reshuffle. This was due to the completion of his term of service. A court official stated, "Typically, chief judges of the Central District Court are transferred to courts located within Seoul after three years of service." Chief Judge Song served as the chief judge of the criminal division at the Central District Court for three years starting from February 2017.

On the same day, the Supreme Court conducted personnel changes for 922 judges below the chief judge level at district courts nationwide, including Chief Judge Song. Ban Jeong-woo, senior chief judge of the Seoul Southern District Court, was appointed as the secretary to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Park Byeong-tae, chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, was appointed as the senior chief judge of the Seoul Western District Court. Lee Chang-yeol, chief judge of the Suwon District Court, moved to the Planning and Coordination Office of the Court Administration Office as the Planning General Deliberator.

Kim Mi-ri, chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, who was expected to be transferred, was retained. Chief Judge Kim is handling the cases involving former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk and the Blue House's alleged interference in the Ulsan mayoral election. She was transferred to the Seoul Central District Court in February 2018. However, there remains a possibility of a change in her position within the Seoul Central District Court through future personnel redistribution.

This personnel reshuffle saw many experienced judges and female judges appointed to key positions. Among experienced judges, Oh Seong-woo, head of the Wonju branch of the Chuncheon District Court, and Song Seon-yang, head of the Nonsan branch of the Daejeon District Court, were appointed. Among female judges, Jeong Seung-won, senior chief judge of the Seoul Family Court, and Lee Soo-young, head of the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Court, were appointed. Notably, Yoon Kyung-ah, Ethics Auditor of the Court Administration Office, became the first female judge to hold a department head position within the Court Administration Office.

Additionally, in line with the plan to reduce the number of judges permanently assigned to the Court Administration Office, six more judges were removed from full-time positions there. In accordance with the dual-track personnel system for judges, 32 judges with legal experience were newly appointed as appellate court judges. The Supreme Court stated, "The Judicial Personnel Committee independently researched and reviewed the draft personnel plan and reported it to the advisory meeting. Based on this review, the advisory meeting presented its final advisory opinion to the Chief Justice. Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su implemented this personnel reshuffle by reflecting the advisory content to the greatest extent."

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