Myeong-soo Kim “Resolutely Responding to Unfair External Attacks” Message from the Back Book

Supreme Court Chief Kim Myung-soo said on the 4th that “we will respond with determination and determination to unfair external attacks that infringe on the independence of the trial.” After the ruling of the first trial against Professor Chung Gyeong-shim of Dongyang University, the wife of former Justice Minister Cho Kook, he took his position as a petition for impeachment of the court was held. However, on the 24th of last month, it was pointed out that it was a’rear North’ message because it was the statement of the position of the head of the judiciary that came out 11 days after the impeachment petition was posted on the Blue House National Petition Bulletin.

Supreme Court Chief Kim explained the position of the court at the opening ceremony that day, saying, “The phenomenon of intensifying conflict and confrontation in each area of ​​society continues to flow into the court.” He said, “When a conflict becomes a case and comes to the court, the judge is given a heavy duty to judge independently according to the law and conscience.”

Last year, the court had to deal with situations involving various social conflicts in the field of trial. At the crossroads of the spread of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), whether or not to allow the 8·15 assembly was decided according to the court’s judgment. The conflict between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol was finally judged to suspend execution by the court twice, and the main lawsuit is still in progress. Cho Kook, former Justice Minister Cho Kook, who was accused of corruption in the entrance exam, said that he was waiting for the judgment of the judiciary by referring to the time of the court.

In each case, after the court’s judgment, the aftermath was severe. In the National Assembly, the’Park Hyeong-soon Ban Act’ was proposed, named after the judge who decided to suspend the execution of the ban on the August 15 assembly. The judiciary, who sentenced Professor Kyung-Shim Chung to four years in prison and held in court, is subject to petitions for impeachment, and criticism from supporters of the former Minister Cho Kuk pours out every day. In the passport, “I will make the prosecution and the court loyal to the people through legislation. There was also a warning saying, “There are enough time and seats.”

In this situation, Chief Justice Kim emphasized that each judge should accept this as a sense of duty. Supreme Court Chief Kim said, “There are cases where the burden on the judges is not small, as in cases that are attracting public attention, but please overcome the weight and solitude with the sense of duty of an independent judge to fulfill its constitutional obligations.” It is a message asking each judge not to be shaken by the surrounding situation.

“As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, I will not forget my constitutional obligations at all times,” he said. “I will respond resolutely and decisively to unfair external attacks that infringe upon the independence of the court.”

Chief Justice Kim also said that reflection at the judiciary level was necessary. He said, “Before appealing for the achievements or efforts of the judiciary, all we have to do is deep reflection and introspection,” he said.

This is interpreted as referring to the case of Sung-yeo Yoon, who was sentenced to innocence at a retrial on the 17th of last month after being imprisoned for 20 years. Yoon was released in 2009 after being miscondemned as the culprit of the ‘8th Mars serial murder case’ in 1989, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Chief Justice Kim said, “It is difficult to confidently answer the question whether the current judiciary is sufficiently recognized by the public for its achievements and efforts.”

Reporter Lee Sujeong [email protected]