Yoon Administration's 'First Supreme Court Justice'... 21 Nominees for Review Announced (Comprehensive)

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[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] As attention focuses on the first Supreme Court Justice under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the Supreme Court on the 14th disclosed the nominees for the successor to Justice Kim Jae-hyung. Among those nominated and who agreed to the screening this time, there is not a single person from the prosecution.

The Supreme Court announced that from the 42 candidates nominated for the Supreme Court Justice recommendation between the 20th and 30th of last month, 21 (19 judges, 1 lawyer, and 1 professor) agreed to the screening by the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee.

Only for those who agreed to the screening, information such as major career achievements and asset status will be disclosed, followed by a public opinion gathering process both inside and outside the court from the 15th to the 28th of this month.

The candidates for the new Supreme Court Justice successor are composed of personnel from the 16th to 25th Judicial Research and Training Institute classes. All nominees are current judges, lawyers, or professors, with no candidates from the prosecution included.

The candidates include ▲Koo Hoe-geun, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court (22nd class) ▲ Kim Dae-woong, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court (19th class) ▲ Kim Yong-bin, Director of Judicial Research and Training Institute (16th class) ▲ Kim Joo-young, Chief Lawyer of Hannuri Law Firm (18th class) ▲ Park Soon-young, Judge of Seoul High Court Incheon Branch (25th class) ▲ Bae Jun-hyun, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court (19th class) ▲ Seo Kyung-hwan, Chief Judge of Seoul Bankruptcy Court (21st class) ▲ Shin Sook-hee, Judge of Suwon High Court (25th class) ▲ Oh Seok-jun, Chief Judge of Jeju District Court (19th class) ▲ Oh Young-jun, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court (23rd class) ▲ Wang Jeong-ok, Judge of Suwon High Court (25th class) ▲ Yoon Joon, Chief Judge of Gwangju High Court (16th class) ▲ Lee Gyun-yong, Chief Judge of Daejeon High Court (16th class) ▲ Lee Seung-ryeon, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court (20th class) ▲ Lee Chang-hyung, Chief Judge of Changwon District Court (19th class) ▲ Jung Jae-oh, Judge of Daejeon High Court (25th class) ▲ Jung Joon-young, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court (20th class) ▲ Ha Myung-ho, Professor at Korea University Law School (22nd class) ▲ Han Chang-hoon, Chief Judge of Chuncheon District Court (18th class) ▲ Ham Sang-hoon, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court (21st class).

After screening the candidates, the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee recommends more than three times the number of candidates deemed suitable for Supreme Court Justice. Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo then selects three from among them and recommends them to President Yoon Suk-yeol. Following this, the nominees must pass a confirmation hearing in the National Assembly and a plenary vote to be appointed.

The Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee consists of six ex officio members and four non-ex officio members. The ex officio members include the senior Supreme Court Justice, the head of the Court Administration Office, the Minister of Justice, the President of the Korean Bar Association, the President of the Korean Association of Law Professors, and the Chairperson of the Association of Law Schools.

Among the non-ex officio members, external figures appointed to gather professional and diverse opinions from various sectors of society include Choi Young-ae, former Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, Lee Mi-kyung, CEO of the Environmental Foundation, and Shim Seok-tae, professor at Semyung University Graduate School of Journalism. As a judge member who is not a Supreme Court Justice, Park So-yeon, judge of Seoul Eastern District Court, was appointed. The chairperson is held by former Human Rights Commission Chairperson Choi.

This Supreme Court Justice appointment is expected to serve as a gauge to confirm the ideological tendencies of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s Supreme Court Justices. Although the nomination of Supreme Court Justices is the authority of the Chief Justice, it is widely acknowledged in the legal community that the appointing president’s intentions are significantly reflected.

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