Vacancy of Two Supreme Court Justices Realized... Supreme Court's 'Small Panel Trials' Impact Inevitable

Acting Chief Justice Deems Exercise of 'Supreme Court Justice Nomination Authority' Inappropriate
Approximately 4,000 Cases Handled Per Justice Annually... Supreme Court Trials Disrupted

With Acting Chief Justice Ahn Cheol-sang deciding not to exercise the authority to recommend Supreme Court justices, if a new Chief Justice is not appointed by January 1 next year, a situation will arise where three Supreme Court justice seats are simultaneously vacant. Even if a new Chief Justice is appointed within this year, the procedures for recommending, nominating, and holding confirmation hearings for justices will take about three months, so the Supreme Court is expected to operate in an incomplete state for a while. In particular, since two justice seats responsible for small panel (sobu) trials will become vacant from January 1 next year, it is anticipated that trials will be delayed.

At the Supreme Court justice meeting held on the 16th, Acting Chief Justice Ahn stated, "The authority of the Acting Chief Justice is based on the principle of maintaining the status quo temporarily, so it is appropriate to exercise authority for routine matters but to withhold or refrain from policy decisions," and decided not to proceed with the preliminary procedures for recommending justices.

Supreme Court trials are divided into a full bench consisting of 13 justices including the Chief Justice, and small panels (sobu) composed of four justices. The full bench handles only important cases where the small panel fails to reach an agreement or when precedent needs to be changed, while the small panels usually hold regular rulings two to three times a month.

The Supreme Court’s 2nd and 3rd divisions, to which Justices Min Yu-sook and Ahn Cheol-sang belong and who will retire on January 1 next year, will thereafter conduct hearings and rulings with three justices. Small panels can conduct hearings and rulings as long as they are composed of three or more justices, so even if two justices retire, the appellate trial itself will not be suspended in the worst-case scenario.

However, under a three-justice system, if a case arises where one justice must recuse or disqualify themselves, it becomes impossible to proceed with the hearing with only two justices, effectively halting the trial. Based on last year’s data, one justice handles about 4,000 cases annually, so if the justice vacancies persist long-term, the speed of appellate trial processing is expected to slow significantly.

A Supreme Court official said, "If the Chief Justice vacancy situation prolongs, the justice vacancies will also be prolonged. The structure is such that all problems are resolved only when the Chief Justice is appointed. The Chief Justice must be nominated and the confirmation hearing conducted as soon as possible."

Additionally, regarding next year’s judicial personnel affairs, the Acting Chief Justice will handle judicial reappointments, and regular judicial personnel changes will proceed according to the existing schedule, as decided at the Supreme Court justice meeting on the 16th. Regular personnel changes for court officials next year will also proceed normally.

The Supreme Court full bench reached a consensus among justices that "considering the guarantee of the people's right to a faithful trial and precedents, the Acting Chief Justice can act on behalf of the Chief Justice’s authority as presiding judge to conduct hearings."

Initially, it was expected that the Supreme Court justice meeting would not conclude in one session, but considering the gravity of the matter, the justices reportedly made a swift decision. However, the justices agreed to monitor the progress of the Chief Justice appointment process and to reconsider the scope of the acting authority if necessary.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Korean Bar Association recommended five candidates for Chief Justice: former Supreme Court Justice Cho Hee-dae (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 13), Constitutional Court Justice Lee Jong-seok (class 15), Seoul High Court Chief Judge Lee Kwang-man (class 16), Seoul High Court Chief Judge Hong Seung-myeon (class 18), and Supreme Court Justice Oh Seok-jun (class 19).

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