Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
When justice meets reality
Hwang Ju-myung, chairman of HMP Law and former judge, releases autobiography
By Jung Min-ho
Hwang Ju-myung, the author of the e-book "Humans as Humans" / Courtesy of HMP Law
By Jung Min-ho
We all want justice ― but what kind? Courts are always crowded with people seeking justice. But far too often, judges disappoint them.
That's because, according to former judge Hwang Ju-myung, we all define justice differently and few people are willing to admit that.
A court is not a place where justice prevails, and delivering it is not a job of judges or justices ― even though their job titles falsely imply it; rather, Hwang says, their main task is to resolve conflicts when there is a clash of ideas about the abstract, undefinable concept.
“In our society, many people still think that judges are there to deliver one true justice. This is why their rulings, in many cases, become the starting point of a new conflict,” he wrote in his autobiography (e-book), “Humans as Humans.”
“Instead of saying 'I disagree with the ruling, but I respect that,' many people say 'the ruling is wrong.' So, the conflict never ends.”
His first book ― and probably last ― is something of a confession. It covers the realities of the country's justice system and the things he learned in it during his legal career of over 50 years ― 12 years as a judge and the rest with corporations and law firms. In the book, he offers interesting perspectives on past events and ideas about how to improve the system.
The cover of the e-book "Humans as Humans" by Hwang Ju-myung
Hwang admits it is not a rags-to-riches story that would be appealing to hard-working young people.
“There were some tough times for me, but they were nothing compared to the stories of the people who achieved their success through hard work and resilience. In my book, there is no dramas, no tears, and I did not want to make one up by exaggerating what I went through,” Hwang wrote.
But the story of a man who struggled between never-ending competition among the legal elites and “noblesse oblige” ― the understanding that nobility requires the person who holds such status to fulfill social responsibilities ― could still be inspiring to many.
Hwang's tone is confident and sometimes even blunt. But the book also reveals his soft side ― his tenderness and empathy toward the less unfortunate.
Hwang was born into an affluent family in 1939, when his country was still under Japanese imperial rule. His father was a mid-ranking government official who later made a success of his publishing business. Hwang excelled at school and eventually chose to study law at Seoul National University ― a typical path for the brightest students ― before becoming a judge in 1961.
Hwang says he would have stayed on that comfortable career track if it had not been for the Watergate scandal. In 1974, he was given an opportunity by the Korean government to study at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. On the first day he arrived in the United States, then U.S. President Richard Nixon delivered his resignation speech over the scandal. He was “pleasantly shocked” by the event and decided to hang up his robe when he returned. The court at the time, he recalls, was not free from his country's military dictatorship.
After working at the Korea National Oil Corporation, Daewoo and law firms, he established his own, HMP Law, in 1993 with just 10 other lawyers. The law firm has since grown into one of the largest in Korea.
Death, Hwang wrote, was what motivated him to write a book. He used to have very strong opinions about things and he was not afraid to tell others what they were. But now, the 80-year-old feels and knows that he does not have much time left. This thought, he says, makes him humble and more generous to others.
“I recently decided to live like I could die tomorrow, which makes my life better,” he wrote. “I hope that young lawyers will read this book. I also hope that it would help my grandson and others his age better understand the people in their grandfathers' time.”