National Judges Representatives Conference to convene on the 7th of next month amid controversy over alleged infringement of judicial independence

[Financial News] The National Judges Representatives Conference will hold its regular meeting on December 7. The meeting comes amid continuing disputes over alleged infringements of judicial independence, including efforts to launch a parliamentary investigation into Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae and controversy over the renomination of a Supreme Court justice. Whether judges will put forward related agenda items and state their position is drawing attention.
According to legal circles on the 3rd, the steering committee of the National Judges Representatives Conference announced that day that it would convene its second-half regular meeting at 10 a.m. on December 7 at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in Ilsan, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The meeting will be held in a hybrid format: in-person attendees will gather in Lecture Room 13 at the institute, while online participants will join by video conference from their offices and other locations. The formal notice of the meeting is expected around the 20th. The steering committee added that it plans to hold an online rehearsal on December 4, three days before the meeting.
The National Judges Representatives Conference is a body where judges elected from courts at each level discuss current issues related to judicial administration and judicial independence and express their views. Its regular meetings are stipulated to take place twice a year, on the second Monday in April and the first Monday in December. An extraordinary meeting may be convened if at least one-fifth of its members request one or the chair deems it necessary.
The agenda for this meeting has not yet been set. Judge representatives wishing to propose an item can post it on the National Judges Representatives Conference community board on CourtNet, the judiciary’s internal network. The chair will place on the agenda items that receive the consent of at least four members by the 30th, seven days before the meeting. Even if an item does not meet the advance proposal requirements, members may request that it be added to the agenda on the day of the meeting by obtaining the consent of nine other members. Members wishing to request an explanation or the submission of materials from judicial administration officials can also post their requests on the same board by the 30th or notify a member of the steering committee.
There have been cases in which the Judges Representatives Conference has stated its position on issues facing the judiciary, but there have also been instances in which it failed to reach a conclusion. In May last year, as controversy intensified inside and outside the judiciary following the Supreme Court ruling in President Lee Jae Myung’s case involving a violation of the Public Official Election Act, the conference held two extraordinary meetings. Judicial trust and the independence of trials were among the key agenda items, but all were voted down.   

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