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Number of Supreme Court justices to rise
By Lee Hyo-sik
Ruling and opposition lawmakers agreed to raise the number of Supreme Court justices to 20 from the current 14 by as early as 2013 as part of judiciary reform measures, according to the Ministry of Justice, Thursday.
It said the reform package was endorsed by the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee. They also agreed that a special investigation unit will be set up to probe crimes committed by prosecutors and judges.
Under the reform package, a controversial central investigation unit at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office will be abolished, and retired judges and prosecutors will be prohibited from practicing as lawyers in legal cases handled by their previous workplaces.
The special judicial reform committee, chaired by Rep. Lee Ju-young of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), unveiled these and other measures designed to restrict the privileges of current and former judges and prosecutors.
The moves are expected to draw strong protest from the judicial circle.
Rep. Joo Sung-young of the GNP and Rep. Kim Dong-chul of the Democratic Party held a joint press conference at the Assembly, saying, “There will be strong resistance from judges and prosecutors against our reform. But we will hold a series of meetings to hear the opinions of academics, lawyers and the public before finalizing the measures.”
The two lawmakers representing the two largest political parties expect them to be passed by the Assembly during a plenary session in April. Among the reform measures, the plan to raise the number of Supreme Court justices is aimed to ease their workload and thus allow them to make more informed rulings.
When retired judges and prosecutors open a private practice as a lawyer, they will be banned for the first year from dealing with legal cases handled by prosecutors’ offices or courts in which they worked before retirement.
From 2017, some judges will be selected from among prosecutors, lawyers and law school professionals with over 10 years experience in their respective fields.
Additionally, some graduates of either the Judicial Research Training Institute or law schools, who are hired as researchers at courts for two to three years, will be appointed as judges.
The central investigation unit at the prosecutors’ office, which usually deals with high-profile cases involving politicians and other influential figures, will be abolished.
Instead, an internal investigation unit will be set up at the office, aimed at probing crimes by prosecutors and judges. The unit however will operate independently from the rest of the prosecutors’ office.