Yoon Joon, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court, "We Must Overcome Crisis Through Fair and Swift Trials"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Yoon Joon, Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court, emphasized the need to restore the prestige of the Seoul High Court through fair and prompt trials.

On the 20th, Chief Judge Yoon stated in his inaugural speech, “Amid a crisis of trust in the entire judiciary, it is difficult to deny that the prestige of the Seoul High Court is not what it used to be despite our efforts,” adding, “We must conduct trials that the public, the demanders of judicial services, desire. Ultimately, the trials the public wants are fair and prompt trials.”

Chief Judge Yoon said, “Judges must not be swayed by political power or factional logic. They must also be resolutely independent from their subjective conscience or beliefs,” and urged, “Constantly reflecting on whether one’s rulings faithfully follow objective validity and the logic of law is a simple but the most certain path.”

He also stated, “The principle of prompt trials cannot be an exception just because it is an appellate trial,” and added, “Rather, the appellate trial is what shortens the overall case processing period to alleviate the suffering of the public receiving trials even a little.”

He emphasized the importance of internal communication as well. Chief Judge Yoon said, “We have lacked workplace communication for over three years due to COVID-19,” and added, “We will do our utmost to ensure that smooth communication leads to accurate work processing and further make the Seoul High Court a more vibrant and happy workplace.”

Furthermore, he added, “I will fulfill my duties so that the Seoul High Court can firmly establish itself as a central appellate court that receives the love and trust of the public.”

Kim Jeongjung, newly appointed Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court, also stated in his inaugural speech, “Judges who compose the bench must independently adjudicate according to the Constitution and laws based on their professional conscience,” and “Each bench, as an independent constitutional institution, bears the constitutional responsibility to guarantee the fundamental rights of the people to the fullest extent through trials.”

Chief Judge Kim said, “I will perform judicial administration centered on ‘trials’ and ‘benches,’” and “I will pay attention to issues such as improving the appointment system of judicial researchers, expanding judicial researchers, and placing them appropriately.”

He added, “I will strive to maximize the guarantee of the public’s right to receive trials in the realm of judicial administration,” “I will pay careful attention to enhancing judicial accessibility for socially vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, foreigners, and migrants,” and “I will also focus on future-oriented judicial administration.”

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