Cho Hee-dae says laws reshaping judicial system are his responsibility as Chief Justice

[The Financial News] Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Korea Cho Hee-dae said, "With laws now taking effect that change the very foundations of our judicial system, I understand that many judges are deeply concerned," adding, "As Chief Justice, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility for the fact that we have come to this point."
On the 13th, in his remarks to the National Judges Representatives Conference, Cho stated, "The Judiciary of South Korea has fulfilled its duties without wavering in every difficult period, thanks to the dedication and efforts of all its members."
He went on to say, "No matter how grave the current situation may be, if all of us remain faithful to the court’s essential role and do our utmost to uphold the mission of judges, I firmly believe we will overcome this crisis and regain the trust and confidence of the people."
The National Judges Representatives Conference is a body in which representative judges elected from courts nationwide gather opinions and demands on judicial administration. By his remarks, Cho effectively acknowledged that, as Chief Justice, he bears a measure of responsibility for the recent enactment by the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea of the three judicial reform bills (beop-waegok-jwe, constitutional complaint against final court judgments, and expansion of Supreme Court justices). Judges have strongly opposed beop-waegok-jwe, arguing that it could undermine their conscientious decision-making and expose them to political attacks, and they have criticized the constitutional complaint against final court judgments as creating a de facto four-tier court system. Many also believe that the decisive trigger for the National Assembly’s judicial reform drive was the Supreme Court of Korea’s May 2025 decision to remand former Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Lee Jae-myung’s Public Official Election Act case with a ruling in effect finding him guilty, which sparked controversy over procedural flaws.
Song Seung-yong, a 29th-term Presiding Judge at the Seoul Central District Court, recently posted a comment on the court’s internal network, CourtNet, regarding the three judicial reform bills, writing that "a person in a position of responsibility should be the one to untie the knot, and that is the starting point for resolving this crisis." Many interpreted this as pointing to Cho’s responsibility.
Cho said, "We are reviewing various measures and seeking effective responses so that the public does not experience inconvenience or hardship, and so that judges do not face heightened anxiety and concern," adding, "I hope that a wide range of candid views will be freely expressed at the National Judges Representatives Conference, and I will listen even more carefully to the voices of your representatives."

hwlee@fnnews.com Lee Hwan-joo Reporter