On the 22nd, it was reported that judges at the Seoul High Court submitted an opinion that the number of appellate panels should be increased to expedite proceedings in the three special counsel trials. Cases brought by the three special counsels, once indicted, are tried at first instance at the Seoul Central District Court and then on appeal at the Seoul High Court. The first-instance hearings in the sedition case of former President Yoon Suk-yeol are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
The Seoul High Court said it held a meeting of all criminal judges that day to share the status of the three special counsel cases currently in first-instance proceedings and to discuss preparation measures for swift and thorough appellate review.
As a result of the discussion, an opinion emerged that at least two or more criminal divisions should be added during next year's regular personnel reshuffle. There was also an opinion that a separate panel should be designated to conduct intensive hearings for the special counsel cases.
Specifically, opinions were raised that "among the cases indicted by the special counsels, those with overlapping facts should, if possible, be assigned together to conduct focused proceedings," and that "to enable thorough review in a short period, four to five judicial researchers should be assigned to a single panel handling intensive hearings."
There were also opinions that "to ensure fair case assignment, panels that include judges with grounds for disqualification or recusal will not be assigned special counsel cases," and that "a single panel should not be assigned, all at once, cases indicted by different special counsels."
The Seoul High Court decided to submit the opinions that were made concrete among those raised that day to the chief judge of the High Court and the National Court Administration.
Earlier, the Seoul Central District Court also rolled out measures to expedite the special counsel cases. On the 20th, one additional judge was assigned to Criminal Division 25 (Presiding Judge Ji Gui-yeon), which is handling three sedition cases including the trial of former President Yoon Suk-yeol. Additional staff such as court reporters and court security officers were also added. The Seoul Central District Court also decided not to assign ordinary cases for the time being to panels handling cases indicted by the special counsels.