[New Year's Address] Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo "Promoting Improvement of the Appeal System... Will Strive from the First Trial"

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo stated, "We will strive from the first trial to help citizens who come to the court due to disputes quickly regain their normal daily lives."

In his New Year's address on the 31st, Chief Justice Kim said, "Since every case fully reflects the lives of the parties involved, we must keep in mind that there is not a single insignificant case and listen more sincerely to the joys and sorrows of the parties."

He also expressed his ambition to make this year the one in which the judicial administration structure is institutionally completed. Chief Justice Kim explained, "Through the Judicial Administration Advisory Council, the foundation for democratic judicial administration has been established, and with legal amendments, the position of chief judge of the High Court, which was pointed out as a cause of bureaucratization of judges, has been abolished. We will further reduce the number of judges working at the Court Administration Office and expand the implementation of the court president candidate recommendation system."

In particular, to fulfill the role appropriate to the function of appellate trials, a desirable improvement plan for the appellate system will also be prepared. This is in response to concerns that if the excessive burden of appellate trials caused by the rapid increase in appeals filed with the Supreme Court is not resolved, the Supreme Court will find it difficult to perform its function as the highest court.

Currently, the appellate system improvement plans being discussed include strengthening the review of grounds for appeal so that the Supreme Court can focus on important cases, establishing appellate divisions in the High Courts to share cases with the Supreme Court, and expanding the size of the Supreme Court.

Finally, Chief Justice Kim stated, "We will focus on improving systems to make it easier for citizens to access the courts," adding, "We will accelerate the establishment of the next-generation electronic litigation system and the future registration system, and vigorously promote the introduction of electronic litigation in criminal trials."

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