Corona Resurgence Puts Seocho Legal Town on Alert

Some Court Administration Office Staff Ordered to Stay Home... Courtrooms Still Exposed to Danger

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has put Seocho-dong Legal Town on high alert. Despite the Supreme Court's directive to suspend trials for two weeks from this week, except for urgent cases, the risk has escalated as a district court judge tested positive for COVID-19, and even senior officials at the Court Administration Office have been exposed.

According to the Court Administration Office on the 26th, following the confirmation that a family member of A, a deliberator belonging to the Planning and Coordination Office, tested positive for COVID-19 the previous day, employees who had close contact with the deliberator were ordered to stay at home until this weekend. Although deliberator A tested negative, 35 people including Court Administration Office Chief Jo Jae-yeon, Deputy Chief Kim In-gyeom, and Planning and Coordination Office Director Hong Dong-gi, who had contact with A, were temporarily instructed to remain at home.

The Supreme Court conducted disinfection and sterilization not only in the office where A was present but also throughout the courtrooms and the entire courthouse. In accordance with the government's strengthened quarantine guidelines, other buildings within the Legal Town, such as the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, have also enhanced quarantine measures during entry. In particular, for trials, the number of people waiting outside the courtroom was minimized, and the number of personnel inside the courtroom was limited to fewer than 50. Additionally, interdepartmental movement within the Supreme Court was discouraged, and face-to-face meetings were minimized.

However, the risk of exposure in the courtroom has not disappeared. Although the Court Administration Office recommended all courts nationwide to postpone trial schedules except for urgent cases, some major cases are expected to proceed as planned. This is because if witness examinations are not conducted on time, other examinations could be delayed as well. Important trials involving Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim of Dongyang University, Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongnam Province, and former Deputy Chief of the Court Administration Office Lim Jong-heon will continue. The trial panel decided not to change the schedule for Professor Jeong's case, citing that key witnesses such as Kim Mi-kyung, Secretary for Balanced Personnel at the Blue House, scheduled for the 27th, and former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, scheduled for the 3rd of next month, are to be examined.

B, the defense attorney for Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church in his criminal case, also tested positive for COVID-19. Attorney B attended Pastor Jeon's trial at the Seoul Central District Court on the 11th and reportedly met with Pastor Jeon on the 15th to dissuade him from attending the Liberation Day rally. Following the news of Pastor Jeon's positive diagnosis, the court and prosecution promptly took action. Three judges, clerks, and court security officers involved in the trial were ordered to stay at home.

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