ID :
210123
Thu, 09/29/2011 - 02:15
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/210123
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New chief justice
(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Sept. 29)
New chief justice
Yang court???s success lies in winning popular trust
A number of difficult problems await Yang Sung-tae, who began his six-year tenure as the nation???s 15th chief justice Tuesday.
Foremost among them is how to restore people???s trust in the judiciary marred by authoritarian elitism shown by young judges talking down to old litigants, and mammonism summed up by popular sarcasm of ``Moneyed are guiltless; moneyless are guilty.???
It is heartening, therefore, to hear Chief Justice Yang put forth his slogan ``court into the people, people into the courts,??? stressing the transparency and openness of the judiciary system. We have called for the court to remain independent from political power, but not isolate itself from the public. Yang seems to be going in this direction.
We hope the 56-year-old chief justice will also eliminate the time-old practice of providing special treatment for prosecutor- or judge-turned lawyers, widely called the ``privilege for one???s former office.???
The highest judge took office at a difficult time when the nation???s jurisprudence is undergoing turbulent changes, such as the establishment of the law school system, the opening of the domestic legal services market and appointment of judges from lawyers and prosecutors. We believe Yang, former Supreme Court justice and a veteran legal administrator, will handle these institutional tasks skillfully.
Also encouraging is his avowed ideological neutrality.
Yang???s predecessor, Lee Yong-hoon, a liberal-minded justice, was not free from the criticism of ``left-leaning??? decisions. We don???t think it wrong for Lee to try to protect the rights of minorities and social underdogs, and extend the nation???s democracy. It is also true, however, some of Lee???s outspoken views and remarks provided targets for ideological attacks. Yang, who says he is neither a conservative nor a liberal, should play the role of a balanced weight.
The first litmus test of Yang???s ideological inclinations will come when he nominates candidates to fill the vacancies in the 13-member Supreme Court left by two liberal justices soon. Some people, most notably Yang???s appointer, President Lee Myung-bak, think the previous two administrations have brought the court to the left and now is the time to shift it to the right. We beg to differ.
Yang will need to do all he can to upgrade the overall levels of judges and trials they preside over. But this should not necessarily mean he should break the current, hard-won ideological equilibrium of the top court. Even more important than the ideological balance will be the compositional diversity of the highest tribunal, which is now entirely composed of lifetime judges, all male and in their 50s and 60s.
It would be a little far-fetched to ask Yang to copy the Japanese system, which picks up justices from lawyers, professors, diplomats and even bureaucrats. But the nation should at least consider why the neighboring country has opened its judiciary door so wide to the rest of society. The legal service has literally become a service in advanced countries.
Koreans will be watching how Chief Justice Yang will keep his promise of serving the people, not politicians or his own colleagues.
(END)
New chief justice
Yang court???s success lies in winning popular trust
A number of difficult problems await Yang Sung-tae, who began his six-year tenure as the nation???s 15th chief justice Tuesday.
Foremost among them is how to restore people???s trust in the judiciary marred by authoritarian elitism shown by young judges talking down to old litigants, and mammonism summed up by popular sarcasm of ``Moneyed are guiltless; moneyless are guilty.???
It is heartening, therefore, to hear Chief Justice Yang put forth his slogan ``court into the people, people into the courts,??? stressing the transparency and openness of the judiciary system. We have called for the court to remain independent from political power, but not isolate itself from the public. Yang seems to be going in this direction.
We hope the 56-year-old chief justice will also eliminate the time-old practice of providing special treatment for prosecutor- or judge-turned lawyers, widely called the ``privilege for one???s former office.???
The highest judge took office at a difficult time when the nation???s jurisprudence is undergoing turbulent changes, such as the establishment of the law school system, the opening of the domestic legal services market and appointment of judges from lawyers and prosecutors. We believe Yang, former Supreme Court justice and a veteran legal administrator, will handle these institutional tasks skillfully.
Also encouraging is his avowed ideological neutrality.
Yang???s predecessor, Lee Yong-hoon, a liberal-minded justice, was not free from the criticism of ``left-leaning??? decisions. We don???t think it wrong for Lee to try to protect the rights of minorities and social underdogs, and extend the nation???s democracy. It is also true, however, some of Lee???s outspoken views and remarks provided targets for ideological attacks. Yang, who says he is neither a conservative nor a liberal, should play the role of a balanced weight.
The first litmus test of Yang???s ideological inclinations will come when he nominates candidates to fill the vacancies in the 13-member Supreme Court left by two liberal justices soon. Some people, most notably Yang???s appointer, President Lee Myung-bak, think the previous two administrations have brought the court to the left and now is the time to shift it to the right. We beg to differ.
Yang will need to do all he can to upgrade the overall levels of judges and trials they preside over. But this should not necessarily mean he should break the current, hard-won ideological equilibrium of the top court. Even more important than the ideological balance will be the compositional diversity of the highest tribunal, which is now entirely composed of lifetime judges, all male and in their 50s and 60s.
It would be a little far-fetched to ask Yang to copy the Japanese system, which picks up justices from lawyers, professors, diplomats and even bureaucrats. But the nation should at least consider why the neighboring country has opened its judiciary door so wide to the rest of society. The legal service has literally become a service in advanced countries.
Koreans will be watching how Chief Justice Yang will keep his promise of serving the people, not politicians or his own colleagues.
(END)
