▲ Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-de arrives at the Supreme Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on the 8th.
As the number of Supreme Court justice vacancies increased to two following the retirement of Justice Lee Heung-goo, the Supreme Court has reorganized its petty benches to prevent disruptions in trials.
The Supreme Court reassigned Justice Uhm Sang-pil, who was previously in the second petty bench, to the third petty bench on the 8th.
This adjustment comes as the vacancy for the successor to former Justice Noh Tae-ak has persisted for over six months, and Justice Lee Heung-goo also stepped down the previous day without the appointment process for his successor being finalized.
Originally, the third petty bench consisted of Justices Lee Heung-goo, Oh Seok-jun, Noh Kyung-phil, and Lee Sook-yeon.
However, Justice Noh Kyung-phil stepped down after being appointed as the Minister of Court Administration last July, and with Justice Lee Heung-goo retiring the previous day, the third petty bench faced a reduction to just two members, half of its full quota of four.
A petty bench requires a minimum of three justices to conduct reviews.
To prevent the suspension of reviews in the petty bench, one justice from the second petty bench was promptly moved to the third petty bench the day after Justice Lee's retirement.
Consequently, both the second petty bench (Oh Kyoung-mi, Kwon Young-jun, Park Young-jae) and the third petty bench (Oh Seok-jun, Uhm Sang-pil, Lee Sook-yeon) will operate for the time being with three members each, which is one short of their full quota.
The first petty bench will remain unchanged with Justices Chun Dae-yup, Seo Kyung-hwan, Shin Sook-hee, and Ma Yong-joo.
While the reorganization of the bench has averted a suspension of reviews in the third petty bench for now, the heavier judicial burden on individual justices is inevitable as 10 justices must temporarily handle cases normally assigned to 12.
However, if the confirmation hearing process for Kim Sung-soo, who has been nominated as a successor to Justice Lee Heung-goo, concludes without a hitch, the single vacancy is expected to be resolved soon.
The vacancy left by former Justice Noh Tae-ak has persisted for over half a year since last March.
This is because, although the Supreme Court Justice Recommendation Committee recommended four candidates last January, the differences in opinion between the presidential office and the judiciary regarding the final nominee have not been narrowed.
Ultimately, on August 18, Chief Justice Cho Hee-de broke the convention of making in-person nominations after backchannel agreements and instead made a written nomination of Daegu District Court Senior Judge Son Bong-ki, for whom an agreement had not been reached.
On the 28th, the presidential office demanded a re-nomination, stating that the nomination "lacked procedural completeness."
Chief Justice Cho originally stated that he would release an official stance last week, but the announcement has been delayed as discussions could not be finalized due to personal matters, such as the passing of his father.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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