"Incheon High Court Is Essential"…Expected Appeals Cases More Than Daegu High Court

Incheon City Announces Results of 'Feasibility Study for Establishing Incheon High Court'
Forms 'Incheon High Court Establishment Promotion Committee' to Launch Citywide Movement for Court Attraction

Incheon City Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Among the metropolitan cities nationwide, only Incheon and Ulsan do not have a High Court. An analysis suggests that if the Incheon High Court is established, the annual number of appeals cases received is estimated to be 1,844, which would exceed the 1,812 cases of the Daegu High Court.

On the 24th, Incheon City disclosed the results of the "Feasibility and Impact Study on the Establishment of the Incheon High Court," which contains this information. This study was commissioned by Incheon City to the Incheon Research Institute starting in April this year to improve judicial accessibility, alleviate citizen inconvenience, and secure the feasibility of establishing the Incheon High Court.

According to the study results, the jurisdictional population of the Incheon District Court, which covers Incheon City and Bucheon and Gimpo cities in Gyeonggi Province, was 4.24 million as of 2021. However, according to Statistics Korea's future population projections, it is expected to increase to 4.32 million by 2037.

In contrast, the jurisdictional population of the Daegu High Court, the smallest among the High Courts, is projected to decrease to 4.5 million, suggesting the need to adjust the current High Court jurisdictional population standard, which is set at over 5 million.

Additionally, as of 2020, civil main cases in appeals at the Incheon District Court numbered 3,405, ranking third among 19 district courts nationwide after Seoul Central District Court and Suwon District Court. Criminal trials numbered 5,510, second only to Suwon District Court. The expected number of appeals cases to be received by the Incheon High Court is 1,844, exceeding Daegu High Court's 1,812 cases. If the Incheon High Court is not established, significant regional equity issues are expected to arise.

Currently, among metropolitan cities, only Incheon and Ulsan lack a High Court. Incheon opened a branch of the Seoul High Court in March 2019, but only the civil and family divisions were established, forcing Incheon citizens to travel to the Seoul High Court for administrative and criminal appeals, causing inconvenience.

The average travel time to the Seoul High Court is 96.1 minutes by public transportation and 71.5 minutes by car, meaning a round trip takes at least 4 hours.

Moreover, as of 2020, the Seoul High Court has the largest jurisdictional area among all High Courts and a jurisdictional population of 18.94 million, more than twice that of the second-largest Suwon High Court. The number of cases is 20,659, accounting for over 60% of the 30,412 main lawsuits nationwide, resulting in an overloaded workload.

This causes delays and inefficiencies in trials and may restrict the right of Incheon citizens to receive a fair trial, highlighting the need to decentralize judicial services from the Seoul High Court.

An Incheon City official stated, "This study has sufficiently secured the justification for establishing the Incheon High Court," adding, "We will use the study results to formulate policies for attracting the High Court, produce promotional materials, and promote visits to the National Assembly and relevant government agencies as well as public awareness campaigns."

Meanwhile, regarding the establishment of the Incheon High Court, the "Partial Amendment to the Act on the Establishment and Jurisdiction of Courts" proposed by Democratic Party lawmakers Shin Dong-geun and Kim Gyo-heung is currently pending in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Incheon City plans to form the "Incheon High Court Establishment Promotion Committee (tentative name)," involving local politicians, legal professionals, and civic groups, to ensure the amendment passes in the 21st National Assembly. The city will actively promote the High Court establishment campaign through a citywide signature drive, forums, and other activities.

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