'Ex-justices must not practice law'

By Kim Rahn

Cha Han-sung

A lawyers’ group is moving to stop former Supreme Court justices from practicing law.

The move has triggered a backlash from some judges who claim such a limitation would infringe on their freedom to choose jobs.

The controversy was sparked on March 19 when the Korean Bar Association (KBA) recommended that former Supreme Court Justice Cha Han-sung drop his plan to become a lawyer.

KBA President Ha Chang-woo said in a statement that the recommendation was aimed at eradicating the practice in judicial circles in which judges, or prosecutors who become lawyers, take advantage of their personal connections established while serving on the bench.

“Korea is almost the only country where former top court justices practice law after retirement and make money,” Ha said. “If such people accept cases as lawyers, junior judges dealing with the cases feel pressured and it can sometimes mislead people into making improper decisions.”

But Cha refused to accept the recommendation, leading the KBA to refuse membership to Cha on Monday.

The rejection is controversial, as Cha already registered with the KBA and there are no legal grounds to prevent Cha from becoming a lawyer.

According to the law, the KBA can refuse a person’s registration, but that does not mean that he or she cannot practice law.

Cha said he wants to take on cases for the public good.

In addition to Cha’s case, Ha is seeking to have all Supreme Court justice nominees promise not to practice law after retirement during confirmation hearings. He said he will ask the National Assembly speaker to get a written promise from nominees when they undergo confirmation hearings at the Assembly.

According to Ha, Park Sang-ok, a nominee who will undergo a hearing early next month, will be the first subject to the written promise. But there is also no legal obligation about the promise, and it remains to be seen whether the Assembly will accept the proposal.

Former and incumbent judges are opposing the KBA move.

They say that despite the good intention of rooting out bad practices, it is wrong to deprive them of the chance to practice law. They also point out that the KBA does not have the authority to do so.

The Supreme Court also refuted the KBA’s claim that Korea is almost the only country in the world where former top court justices work as lawyers, saying most former justices from Japan’s Supreme Court also do so.

According to data released by the Korean court, 10 out of 18 former judges at the Japanese top court have practiced law. When excluding three who died while in the post or who retired due to illness and another one who did not have a lawyer’s license, it is 10 out of 14.