[Invest&Law] Can Five Major Judicial Reforms Be Completed in Just 50 Days?

Democratic Party Pledges Completion Before Chuseok
Cautious Approach Needed for Judicial Personnel Authority
"Correct Reform Should Take Precedence Over Speed"

After the Democratic Party of Korea declared its intention to complete five major judicial reform tasks before Chuseok, concerns have been raised that the process may be rushed and result in poorly considered measures.

First, there are significant concerns that the proposed improvements to the judicial evaluation system could infringe upon the independence of judges, which is guaranteed by the Constitution. The amendment to the Court Organization Act, proposed by Assemblyman Jung Chungrae, stipulates the establishment of a judicial evaluation committee of up to 15 members, including representatives from parliamentary negotiation groups, legal organizations, and court insiders, and requires the public disclosure of evaluation results. However, critics point out that the scope of legal organizations is not clearly defined, raising concerns that the system could be misused as a means to target specific judges based on their rulings.

A judge from a metropolitan court stated, "It is necessary to review whether delegating the authority over judicial personnel, which has so far been vested in the Chief Justice, to external committee members is constitutionally appropriate." Many lawyers who are former judges also said, "Delegating the authority over judge appointments to outsiders should be approached with caution."

Increasing the number of Supreme Court justices is considered one of the reform measures with the broadest public support by the government and ruling party. However, if the number of justices becomes excessively large, it could make operating a single en banc bench difficult. The inevitable need to increase the number of judicial researchers to assist the justices could lead to a shortage of personnel in lower courts. This would run counter to the principle that the personnel and facilities of lower courts should be expanded and trial procedures improved to ensure thorough hearings at both the first and second instance levels. A chief judge remarked, "The reform proposals announced so far do not specifically include measures to improve human and material resources, such as securing additional office space."

The 'pre-search warrant interrogation system' is a procedure that allows the court to question individuals who possess information necessary to assess the requirements for issuing a search and seizure warrant before granting it. While the judiciary welcomes this reform, investigative agencies are reluctant. A lawyer who is a former senior prosecutor commented, "During previous discussions, concerns were raised that introducing this system could undermine the secrecy and speed of investigations, so it should only be pursued after concrete supplementary measures are established." A mid-career lawyer working in Seoul's Seocho-dong legal district also said, "Because it could hinder investigations based on special probes or intelligence, it is necessary to listen to the concerns of investigative agencies and thoroughly discuss concrete methodologies."

Beyond the pros and cons of each individual task, there is growing concern about the tight timeline. The ruling party has set a deadline of 'before Chuseok,' leaving only about 50 days until early October. One legal professional stated, "The judicial system is interconnected like gears, so it cannot be viewed from a single perspective," adding, "For reforms to truly benefit the public, the focus should be on correct reforms rather than rapid ones."

Legal Times Reporter Park Suyeon

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.

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