Seoul High Court: “No Delays in General Trials Due to Special Prosecutor Cases... All-Out Efforts Including Suspension of Case Assignment”

"No Evident Delay in Hearing Scheduling, According to Data"

"Oral Arguments Concluded in 12 of 17 Special Prosecutor Cases"

Yonhap News Agency

The Seoul High Court has stated that it is maintaining the pace of hearings for general cases by implementing measures such as “suspension of case assignment” amid concerns that special prosecutor (SP) cases, including those related to insurrection, could delay ordinary trials.

A Seoul High Court official said at a press briefing on April 22, "While it is true that the heavy caseload of special prosecutor cases places a significant work burden on the courts, there has been no evidence that this has caused delays in the scheduling of other cases." Currently, the Seoul High Court's criminal divisions are operating with 16 divisions, two more than last year. The two additional divisions have been designated as insurrection-only panels, handling only dedicated cases, which allows the remaining divisions to maintain their usual capacity for processing general criminal cases.

The insurrection-only divisions were established under the Special Act on Criminal Procedure for Crimes of Insurrection, Foreign Aggression, and Rebellion (Insurrection-Only Division Act). Since February 23, Criminal Division 1 and Division 12 have been designated and operational as dedicated panels. Among the special prosecutor cases filed with the Seoul High Court, there are 5 insurrection SP cases, 11 Kim Kunhee SP cases, and 1 marine SP case, totaling 17 cases. Of these, 12 cases have either completed oral arguments or are awaiting verdicts.

For general criminal divisions burdened with the large volume of SP cases, the Seoul High Court operates a system called “suspension of case assignment,” temporarily halting new case allocations at the presiding judge’s request. This measure is intended to prevent any single division from becoming paralyzed by excessive workload and to distribute newly filed general cases to other divisions, thereby maintaining the overall pace of court proceedings.

The Seoul High Court is also implementing administrative support measures to facilitate smooth proceedings and prevent delays. A court official explained, "The number of judicial officers assigned to dedicated divisions has been doubled from the usual one to two, and the number of stenographers, which is effectively less than one per division, has been increased to four per division." The number of bailiffs per trial date has also been significantly increased from one to a maximum of six, and additional support staff have been assigned to handle reading, copying, and appellate record preparation in order to reduce the workload for clerks.

Regarding criticism that the scheduling of hearings for cases such as the former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection case has been delayed, the court cited legal limitations. A Seoul High Court official explained, "Since the special prosecutor did not directly file charges in this case, there is no legal basis for shortening the period for submitting a statement of appeal to seven days. The 20-day period for submitting a statement of appeal applies, and the notification process for multiple defendants took additional time."

The official added, "Even though the Special Prosecutor Act does not apply directly, the 'Special Act for Dedicated Divisions' containing provisions for expedited trials does apply. The court is acting as swiftly as possible within the scope of the law, including issuing preparatory orders to clarify the issues." In the case involving former President Yoon, no initial hearing date had been set for a month and a half following the first-instance verdict in February.

Meanwhile, the Seoul High Court announced that it has also expanded public communication efforts by adding captions such as “Defendant Examination” and “Witness Interrogation” at the top of YouTube livestreams for improved viewer accessibility.

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