Reform bill to be submitted to parliament later this month


From 2013, only those with a certain period of judicial experience as prosecutors, lawyers, law professors and in similar positions will be appointed as judges according to a proposal by a parliamentary committee.

The National Assembly’s special committee for judicial reform said it would vote Wednesday on a plan to change the way judges are hired.

Under the current system, the top scorers in the bar examination are able to become judges right after they complete their two-year mandatory educational program at the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

According to the reform plan to be submitted to parliament later this month, only those with at least three years of legal experience will qualify to be hired as judges in 2013 through 2017.

The minimum will be raised to more than five years from 2018 to 2019 and seven years from 2020 to 2021. From 2022, only those with more than 10 years of field experience will be considered for the bench, the lawmakers said.
However, the committee members decided to spare some space for young and fresh aspiring judges and hire them as “law clerks.”

This fledgling judge-nurturing system was inspired by the U.S., which appoints recent law school graduates who performed near the top of their classes to provide assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. These clerks have reportedly been influential in judges’ decisions and serving as a law clerk allows more prestigious career opportunities, observers say.

The Korean apprentice judges will be able to serve for up to three years and a total of 200 places will be made for them until 2020.

Such groundbreaking blueprint reflects politicians’ determination to reform the overall judicial system, restricting and fine-tuning the personnel issues related to judges.

While liberal opposition lawmakers complain that courts have made conservative decisions including charging liberal teachers and candlelight vigil participants, conservative assembly members denounced some judges for making politically-biased rulings.

For the wider and more transparent public access to judicial decisions, the committee consisting of six lawmakers decided to disclose all rulings and related evidence online. Anyone willing to look into court trial documents, except for sexual assaults or extremely personal cases, will be able to peruse them by accessing the respective court websites.

Currently, only Supreme Court documents are made available to those who apply for the release of some specific information to the court or visit the court in person.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)