Former Lawyer Judge 'Hugwan Yewoo' Prevention Law Passed by National Assembly

Speaker Park Byeong-seok is presiding over the 12th plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 19th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] A bill prohibiting judges who are former lawyers from handling cases related to their previous law firms for two years has passed the National Assembly.

The National Assembly held a plenary session on the 19th and passed the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act containing this provision.

The amendment includes as a disqualification reason the case where less than two years have passed since the date of retirement from a law firm that served as the defendant's counsel or as a representative for the defendant or victim. This legal revision follows the unification of the legal profession, under which many lawyers from law firms and corporations have been appointed as judges.

The background is the controversy over whether judges can conduct fair trials in relation to their former law firms or corporations, so-called 'post-service favoritism.'

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