Judiciary Reform Proposed
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The Supreme Court is considering doubling the minimum period of time required for a judge to be eligible to preside over a criminal case on their own to 10 years to ensure fair and unbiased trials, court officials said Saturday.
Currently, judges are required to work in panels that include a senior judge for five years before they can oversee cases on their own.
"The annual judge reshuffle scheduled for late February is expected to be implemented in accordance with the new guideline," said a high-ranking official of the highest court.
This decision came amid growing criticism from conservative parties and activists that young, inexperienced judges had been swayed by their ideological beliefs in politically sensitive cases.
The criticism of the judiciary was touched off by a series of recent rulings in favor of those who had engaged in activities against the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration.
The feud reached a climax last week after the Seoul Central District Court acquitted five MBC TV workers, who had been indicted on charges of defaming state negotiators by exaggerating the risk of mad cow disease associated with U.S. beef in an investigative report that was aired in 2008.
Conservative activists condemned the involved judges for reaching verdicts based on ideological biases, while progressive forces hail the rulings, citing them as proof that justice was still alive.
The Supreme Court official said the plan was not in response to the recent criticism, saying, "We pushed it through before the latest controversy."
But other insiders say the growing criticism appears to have provided the impetus to introduce the plan.
Meanwhile, the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) is pushing for the minimum period to be raised to 15 years.
Also, it is moving to ease regulations to help more experienced lawyers and prosecutors become judges.