Supreme Court to Hold Discussion on Appellate System Reform Today... Live Broadcast on YouTube

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seokjin Choi] The Supreme Court will hold a forum on the 21st to discuss improvements to the appeal system.

The forum aims to address the situation where one Supreme Court justice has to handle about 4,000 appeal cases per year (16,000 cases including non-main cases) and to discuss ways for the Supreme Court to better fulfill its role as the highest court.

The Supreme Court will hold the forum titled "Is the Supreme Court's Judicial System Good as It Is? Focusing on Improvements to the Appeal System" simultaneously at the Supreme Court and via a dedicated online video conference room (YouTube channel) starting at 2 p.m. on the same day.

The chair of the forum will be Kwon Ogon, President of the Korean Law Academy (former Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Yugoslavia Tribunal), and Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye and Chairman of the Korean Bar Association Lee Jong-hyeop are scheduled to give congratulatory remarks.

The forum will proceed with thematic presentations including "The Necessity of Improving the Appeal System and the Progress of Improvement Efforts" (Topic 1) and "Several Measures for Improving the Appeal System: Focusing on Discussions by the Special Committee on Appeal System Improvement" (Topic 2), followed by in-depth discussions.

Designated discussants include Chief Judge Ha Sang-ik of Mokpo Branch, Gwangju District Court, Chief Prosecutor Kim Jong-woo of Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, Vice President Kim Gwan-gi of the Korean Bar Association, Professor Shim Seok-tae of Semyung University, and Director Sung Chang-ik of the Judicial Center of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society.

Considering the COVID-19 situation, the forum will be conducted with the chair, presenters, and designated discussants physically present, while others will participate online via the Zoom program. The forum will be broadcast live on the YouTube channel "Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea."

Currently, the number of appeal cases filed annually at the Supreme Court reaches 40,000 to 50,000 in terms of main cases, and the complexity and number of contentious issues in cases are increasing compared to the past.

In a perception survey conducted last September targeting the general public and experts, there was a consensus on the need to improve the appeal system, with 84.9% of general citizens, 95.9% of judges, 89.2% of prosecutors, 75.7% of lawyers, and 80.1% of law professors agreeing on the necessity of appeal system improvement.

The Special Committee on Appeal System Improvement under the Judicial Administration Advisory Council conducted in-depth research, expert seminars, and surveys through nine meetings since January last year, collecting various opinions on improving the appeal system. As a result, in January this year, it reported to the Judicial Administration Advisory Council on ▲ the appeal review system plan ▲ a mixed system combining the High Court appeal division and the appeal review system ▲ and a dual structure of the Supreme Court (including a slight increase in the number of justices).

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