Supreme Court Nominee Kwon Young-jun Completed One Year of Master's Program While Serving as Military Legal Officer

Professor Kwon Young-jun (53, Judicial Research and Training Institute class of 25), a professor at Seoul National University School of Law who has been nominated as a candidate for the new Supreme Court Justice, is reported to have enrolled in a master's program at Seoul National University while serving as a Navy legal officer.

According to the legal community on the 10th, Kwon served as a Navy military legal officer for three years starting in April 1996. During his military service, in March 1998, he enrolled in the master's program in law at Seoul National University and attended classes. This period overlaps with about one year of his service before discharge.

Kwon explained, "With the understanding of my superior, I took graduate courses," and added, "During off-duty hours such as nights or weekends, personal time was granted, and to my knowledge, there were no specific regulations prohibiting or restricting attending lectures during that time." He also stated, "The Navy did not impose movement restrictions based on the area of jurisdiction, and I did not leave my duty station without permission."

However, he also said, "At that time, enlisted soldiers were not able to earn academic credits," and expressed, "As an officer whose off-base life was guaranteed, I earned master's degree credits, but I feel sorry for the enlisted soldiers who lived under difficult conditions on base."

The National Assembly's Special Committee on Personnel Hearings for candidate Kwon will be held on the 11th.

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