S. Korean Supreme Court embroiled in lobbying scandal
Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su walks past a portrait of former Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae – at the center of the judiciary's recent "power abuse" scandal – at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Wednesday.
By Lee Suh-yoon
The National Court Administration (NCA) is facing a fresh round of power abuse allegations after 196 of its documents released Tuesday showed it was prepared to partially give up judicial independence to curry favor with the disgraced Park Geun-hye administration.
Under former Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae, the NCA drafted hundreds of documents detailing plans to lobby Cheong Wa Dae and the National Assembly to establish a de facto “Second Supreme Court” that would deal with smaller cases, thus easing the workload for the “main” Supreme Court and creating more judiciary positions.
According to one document drafted in July 2015 before Yang had a meeting with President Park, the NCA planned to give Cheong Wa Dae the power to “assign certain cases” to special review by the Supreme Court. Examples mentioned in the document included Election Law or National Security Law violations – cases that usually have a direct impact politically.
The same document also stated there would be “institutional mechanisms” that would give the president de facto power to appoint judges to the second court.
The plans revealed in the documents have raised criticism that the Supreme Court was willing to trade its own independence – as well as deliver “friendly” rulings – to seal the political bargain that would expand its organizational structure.
“The Supreme Court definitely veered far away from its required role by trying to interfere in the legislative process,“ Kim Hyun, president of the Korean Bar Association, told The Korea Times, Wednesday. “It's supposed to play the minimal role of adjudicating social conflict.”
Kim also pointed out that court cases were sacrificed in this lobbying process.
The documents showed that Yang and other NCA officials pressured judges to delay cases brought to the court by victims of Japan's wartime slavery.
“The case involving victims of Japan's wartime slavery was put on hold for a long time to stay in line with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' approach,” Kim said. “But the court should not have been so overly careful about toeing the line with the executive, especially for a case that was so intimately linked to the self-esteem and pride of the Korean people.”
Yang has denied any “unfair interference” in hearings that could potentially be used for political bargaining.
One document drafted in April 2015 detailed specific lobbying strategies to pressure lawmakers who were against the new appeals court. A similar document drafted in October 2014 presented plans for creating a unique strategy for each lawmaker depending on their “party, interests, political stance and district they represented.”
The Supreme Court's lobbying efforts also extended to the press, most notably the Chosun Ilbo, a conservative-leaning newspaper, which it wanted to use to influence the public's perception toward a second appeals court.
Multiple documents made in 2015 outlined plans to use the Chosun Ilbo to advertise the need for the new judicial body. The plans included a detailed budget, timeframe and even names of columnists and reporters who could be mobilized for the effort.