National representatives of judges will hold the first regular meeting of the year on the 13th. It will be the first gathering of the newly formed representatives following February's regular personnel moves, and the first meeting since last month's promulgation of the "three judicial reform laws." Electing the leadership is the official agenda, but additional items may be raised on follow-up responses to the legislation and internal judiciary issues.
According to legal sources, the National Judges Representatives' Meeting will convene a regular session at 10 a.m. on the 13th at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in Goyang, Gyeonggi. The meeting was finalized after Acting Chair Mun Gwang-seop, a presiding judge at the Seoul High Court, recently issued a convening notice to representatives from courts nationwide. This year's body has 130 members; the meeting opens with a majority present and decisions pass with a majority of those in attendance.
The official agenda for this meeting is to elect the chair and vice chair. Under the rules of the National Judges Representatives' Meeting, the representatives are newly formed each year based on the regular personnel reshuffle, and the leadership is elected at the first meeting after formation. However, if representatives propose separate items on site, related discussions may be held.
Attention is focused on how the first collective discussion within the judiciary after the three judicial reform laws will be shaped. At its December meeting, the National Judges Representatives' Meeting noted concerns that creating a panel dedicated to insurrection cases and establishing the crime of legal distortion could infringe on judicial independence. At this meeting as well, items may be raised on practical confusion from the laws' implementation, follow-up steps, and the courts' internal response direction.
Whether there will be calls for a statement of position from Chief Justice Jo Hee-de and other current judiciary leaders is another variable. Song Seung-yong, a Director General judge at the Seoul Central District Court, posted on the court's internal network last month, citing a "leadership crisis" in the judiciary ahead of the implementation of the three judicial reform laws, and argued that if those in responsible positions do not make decisions, the judiciary should resolve the crisis through the collective intelligence of the National Judges Representatives' Meeting.