Bill to Increase 590 Judges and Prosecutors Over 5 Years Passes Cabinet Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] A bill to gradually increase the total number of judges and prosecutors by 590 over the next five years has passed the Cabinet meeting.

On the 20th, the Ministry of Justice announced that the partial amendments to the "Act on the Number of Judges of Courts of All Levels" and the "Act on the Number of Prosecutors," which include gradually increasing the number of judges by 370 and prosecutors by 220 over five years, were approved at the Cabinet meeting.

The plan is to increase the number of judges by 50 in 2023, 80 in 2024, 70 in 2025, 80 in 2026, and 90 in 2027, totaling 370, and to increase the number of prosecutors by 40 each year from 2023 to 2025, and by 50 each year from 2026 to 2027, totaling 220.

Under the current law, the number of prosecutors is 2,292 and the number of judges is 3,214. With the passage of the amendment, the numbers will increase to 2,512 prosecutors and 3,584 judges. However, the Democratic Party, which advocates for the reduction of prosecutorial powers, is expected to actively oppose the passage of the amendment.

The Ministry of Justice explained that the increase in the number of judges and prosecutors was pursued to respond to the changing judicial environment and to provide better judicial services through prompt case handling and thorough trial proceedings. The courts are also reported to have expressed the opinion that increasing personnel is essential to alleviate public inconvenience caused by trial delays.

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