Kim Dae-woong, chief judge of the Seoul High Court, said on the 16th that whether to resume President Lee Jae-myung's criminal trial is a matter for individual benches to decide, speaking at a parliamentary audit of the Seoul High Court and other courts by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
Asked by Rep. Kim Han-kyu of the Democratic Party of Korea whether halting the president's trial could be viewed as dereliction of duty and abuse of the power to direct proceedings, Kim said of the suspension of Lee's criminal trial, "I understand it was suspended based on a constitutional provision."
When Kim Han-kyu noted that five presiding judges at the Seoul High Court, the Seoul Central District Court and the Suwon District Court had recently been accused of abuse of authority and dereliction of duty over the suspension of Lee's trial, and asked whether a crime could be established, the chief judge said, "In my view, I do not believe that constitutes a crime." He added, however, that whether to resume the president's trial is for individual benches to decide and is not a matter for a chief judge to intervene in.
Kim also said it is undesirable for vacancies on the Supreme Court bench to continue. Asked whether the public suffers harm if the vacancies persist, he said, "I think so."
On Kim Min-ki, a senior judge at the Seoul High Court who is reported to be under consideration by the presidential office for appointment as a Supreme Court justice, he said, "I do not think it is appropriate for me to evaluate individuals," adding, "But I believe those recommended by the candidate recommendation committee were recommended because they are qualified."
When Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party asked about the relative weight of the chief justice's power to nominate, the National Assembly's power to consent and the president's power to appoint, Kim said, "I do not think there is any hierarchy among the powers to nominate, to consent and to appoint."
Rep. Kim Min-jeon of the People Power Party raised the suspicion that courts had repeatedly rejected search and seizure warrants in the investigation into the shortage of ballot papers at the National Election Commission, protecting their own. Oh Min-seok, chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, said, "Judges handling warrants review the case records and the facts, apply the law, and carefully examine whether there is prima facie evidence of a crime and whether a search and seizure is necessary before deciding whether to issue a warrant." By that, he meant that a judge's status as an election commissioner is not something the court factors into its decision on whether to issue a warrant.
Oh, who concurrently served as chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission during the ninth nationwide local elections, apologized, saying, "I feel sorry about the situation in which various problems arose from the shortage of ballot papers."