Enforcement of Military Court Act Amendment in 3 Months... Staffing Challenges for Civilian Courts Remain Key

On November 25 last year, the father of the late Air Force Master Sergeant Lee Yeram, who made a second victimization claim of sexual harassment in front of Myeongdong Cathedral in Jung-gu, Seoul, and then took an extreme measure, is holding a solo protest urging the introduction of a special investigation.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] As the amendment to the Military Court Act, which abolishes the High Military Court responsible for military sexual offense cases and allows ordinary courts to handle these cases from the outset, is set to be implemented in July this year, concerns are emerging about the need to prepare so that manpower shortages in frontline courts do not worsen.

On the 29th, a representative from the Court Administration Office stated that preparations will be made for the implementation of the Military Court Act amendment in accordance with existing Criminal Procedure Act provisions.

According to the amendment, the High Military Court, which handles appeals for military cases, will be abolished in July, and the appellate divisions of ordinary courts will take over these cases. Additionally, military sexual offenses and death cases will be handled by ordinary courts and prosecutors from the first trial and investigation stages, respectively.

Jurisdiction over military cases will be included under the jurisdiction of the court in the area where the crime occurred or the place of service, according to Article 4 of the Criminal Procedure Act. Furthermore, although military cases were previously subject to restricted public access, once the amendment is implemented, attendance at trials, viewing and copying of trial records, and provision of judgments will be permitted just like ordinary criminal trials, explained the Court Administration Office representative.

However, concerns are raised that the chronic shortage of judges may worsen. According to the Supreme Court, the number of judges in South Korea (as of 2019) is 2,966, which is significantly lower compared to Germany (23,835), France (7,427), and Japan (3,881). Considering population size, the number of cases per judge is 464.07 in South Korea, approximately 5.17 times that of Germany (89.63) and about 3.05 times that of Japan (151.79).

In the legal community, it is viewed as difficult to immediately allocate additional personnel ahead of the amendment’s implementation, which will bring a large influx of military cases such as defense industry corruption, harsh treatment, and sexual violence. A judge from a district court in Gangwon Province, where many military units are stationed, said, "Since the size of the (affiliated) court is small, it is more difficult to transfer personnel from one side to increase manpower on the other compared to larger courts," adding, "It is expected that work distribution will be decided considering the volume of cases received in the future."

The Seoul High Court, the largest high court nationwide, expanded one criminal trial division last month. This is the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 4 (Presiding Judges Bae Gwangguk, Oh Youngjun, Kim Bokhyeong), which specializes in sexual violence cases. A Seoul High Court official said, "We first expanded one trial division in preparation for the increased workload due to the amendment’s implementation," and added, "It has not yet been decided whether to designate a dedicated division for military cases or to assign them sequentially to each division like ordinary cases. We will monitor the progress throughout this year."

Seoul Seocho-gu Seoul High Court · Seoul Central District Court. / Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

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