Judges collectively protest sanctions on colleague

By Yi Whan-woo

A growing number of district courts will convene meetings Friday in what is seen as a growing collective protest against the Supreme Court’s decision not to reappoint a liberal-minded judge, allegedly punished for being critical of President Lee Myung-bak.

The judges at the Seoul Central District and Western District courts and other courts in and around Seoul will discuss the case of Judge Seo Gi-ho who, after lampooning President Lee, was ruled unfit for the job by a judiciary screening committee.

Other district courts, including the Seoul Northern District Court where Seo has served, are also considering holding meetings on the subject.

The top court said it did not reappoint him due to his poor performance. But his colleagues believe Seo’s criticism of President Lee is the main reason.

“A consensus was reached as more than half of 22 judges here called for a meeting,” a Seoul Western District Court official said.

Under regulations, the head of a respective court is required to convene a meeting on a specific matter when more than one fifth of judges call for one.

Participants in the meeting will go over the transparency in the decision-making process of the Supreme Court. They will also review the procedure to file protests with the ruling body.

“A number of my colleagues have sympathized with me on the Supreme Court’s inadequacy in its decision-making process for the reappointment,” Seo said.

“I was shocked when the court ruled against me even though it was evident many judges would oppose the upper body if it did,” he added.

The Supreme Court said Friday that its personnel management screening committee decided not to reinstate Seo to the Seoul Northern District Court after reviewing his performance.

The ruling came after the 41-year-old criticized the court and the government’s move to regulate judges’ use of social networking services (SNS), claiming it was a restriction on the freedom of expression.

The judge and his supporters claim it was a retaliatory move as he openly criticized the Lee administration.

He drew public attention earlier through his controversial Facebook and Twitter messages.

Seo urged SNS users not to be “intimidated” by the government’s crackdown, or President Lee may give them a bigger “insult.”

In criticizing the policy, he used the slang popularized by hosts of the sensational podcast “Naneun Ggomsuda” (I’m a petty trickster), which ridicules the conservative leadership of the president.

“Don’t be intimidated, my fellow SNS friends. Or Gakha (his highness) will give you a bigger yeot (taffy),” Seo wrote, with “give you a bigger yeot” meaning that President Lee will cause the people greater problems.