How Much Longer Will They Neglect the Harsh Words of Judges?

Another judge blurted out controversial words at a defendant and a witness during trial. This happened only four months after a judge had received disciplinary measures for telling a victim, "You should just die if you're old" last October.

One chief judge in a Seoul metropolitan court asked a defendant charged with violating the Attorneys-at-Law Act, "You only went to elementary school, didn't you? I heard your wife went to college. Did you drug her to get her to marry you?" when he was assigned to the Eastern Branch of the Busan District Court late last year.

The judge had had the defendant's criminal record of drug use in mind when he asked this question. The judge went on to speak vulgar words too base to mention to the defendant's friend who took the stand as a witness saying, "He must have done something for you like lick your XXX."

A courtroom at the Busan District Court / Yonhap News file photo

These words came out in the process of inquiring about the details when the witness testified that the defendant had been good to him. As the controversy heated up, the Supreme Court released an apology to the people in the name of Cha Han-sung, head of the Office of Court Administration, and announced their plans to punish the judge in question. They also held a meeting of the chief justices of courts nationwide and are discussing measures to prevent recurrence.

Indecent language spoken by judges is a serious issue directly related to the credibility of the judiciary. The Supreme Court also expressed their position stating that the recent expressions by the judge were unacceptable as they undermined the credibility of all judges.

We had demanded a change of awareness among the leaders in our courts to prevent recurrence when the harsh words of a judge were in the spotlight the last time. However, nothing has changed. The Supreme Court promised to strengthen monitoring, to conduct surveys of people involved in litigation, and to open a training course customized to problematic judges.

The Supreme Court's pledges to right their wrongs have ended as empty promises in just 4 months. The judge in the recent incident had a bad reputation for indecent language in his past trials. However, he was transferred to a court in the Seoul metropolitan area without receiving any restrictions not to mention having to attend any training course. Apparently, there is a hole in our verification of court personnel.

The court should take this opportunity and present a plan for fundamental reforms. This is not an issue which they should roughly handle with a simple apology to the public. They should improve their verification process and filter out problematic judges. In addition, they need to strengthen a training program to help judges develop their qualifications and escape from an authoritarian perspective.

Covering for one of their own is another practice that needs to change. Despite the countless cases of indecent language spoken by judges in the past, the judge who was in the news late last year was the only person to receive disciplinary actions. The judge was let off with a reprimand, the lightest disciplinary measure.

With the Supreme Court's determination as such, how can we possibly expect to see improvements in the practices of courtroom judges? An excessive workload is also a key factor which is aggravating the problem. As people excessively file lawsuits, a judge is likely to preside over 30~40 cases a day. That is our reality.