▲ Justice Roh Kyung-pil during a Supreme Court en banc ruling in March last year.
Supreme Court Justice Roh Kyung-pil (62, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 23) has been appointed as the new Minister of the National Court Administration, a position that had been vacant for over four months amid delays in the recommendation of new Supreme Court justices.
With the position filled, there is speculation that discussions regarding the recommendation of new Supreme Court justices may gain momentum, as the post had been left vacant to prevent disruptions in trial operations following the retirement of Justice Roh Tae-ak.
Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae announced today (July 10) that he will appoint Justice Roh Kyung-pil as the new Minister of the National Court Administration, effective July 14.
The Minister of the National Court Administration oversees judicial administrative affairs and is a position concurrently held by one of the Supreme Court justices.
The new Minister, Roh, was appointed as a judge in 1997. He has served as a judicial researcher at the Supreme Court, a high court judge at the Seoul High Court, and a presiding judge and senior presiding judge at the Gwangju High Court and Suwon High Court, respectively, before being appointed as a Supreme Court Justice in August 2024.
The Supreme Court stated that during his five-year tenure as a judicial researcher, the new Minister Roh conducted in-depth reviews of numerous disputes related to constitutional and administrative law, taking the lead in promoting and realizing fundamental rights for citizens, participation in administrative procedures, and tax justice.
He is respected and trusted both within and outside the judiciary for his professional legal knowledge, rational and fair judgment, and his integrity and character.
A Supreme Court official explained, "The new Minister Roh is the right person to implement a swift and fair judicial system for the public and enhance public trust in the judiciary through his leadership of listening and inclusion, communicating with members of the court as well as various sectors of society."
This appointment fills the vacancy that had persisted for about four months since Justice Park Young-jae (56, class 22) expressed his intention to resign from the post.
Justice Park took office as Minister on January 16 of this year, succeeding former Minister Cheon Dae-yeop, but expressed his intention to resign on February 27, just 42 days after taking office, following the legislative backlash over the so-called "three judicial laws" (laws concerning the criminalization of judicial distortion, appeals for trials, and the expansion of the number of Supreme Court justices).
Justice Park, who served as the presiding justice during the final appeal of the Public Official Election Act case involving then-presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung—for which a remand ruling was issued in May last year—faced pressure to resign from hardline Democratic Party members of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee after his appointment as Minister.
In addition, as the legislation of the three judicial laws, which the judiciary had been concerned about, proceeded, he chose to step down to take responsibility.
Since then, Chief Justice Cho had not appointed a successor, leaving Ki Woo-jong, Deputy Minister of the National Court Administration, to serve as acting minister.
The decision was made to ensure there were no disruptions in trial operations after Justice Roh Tae-ak retired on March 3 without a successor, leaving the court in a "13-member system."
In a full "14-member system," 12 Supreme Court justices, excluding the Chief Justice and the Minister of the National Court Administration, are responsible for handling trials.
Regarding the successor to Justice Roh Tae-ak, the Supreme Court Justice Recommendation Committee had previously recommended four candidates in January: Seoul High Court judges Kim Min-ki (class 26) and Park Soon-young (class 25), Daegu District Court presiding judge Son Bong-ki (class 22), and Seoul High Court presiding judge Yoon Sung-sik (class 24). However, the process had remained deadlocked as the presidential office and the judiciary could not narrow their differences over the final candidate.
If the recommendation for the successor to Justice Lee Heung-gu, who is set to retire in September, is also not made on time, there could be two vacancies among the Supreme Court justices.
Against this backdrop, the appointment of Justice Roh Kyung-pil as Minister has led to speculation that discussions surrounding the recommendation of successor justices may now progress.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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