Supreme Court to establish procedure for cases of national importance

The Supreme Court has decided to establish special panels and procedures to exclusively and intensively hear cases deemed to be of national significance and requiring swift handling.

The Supreme Court building in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 8 [YONHAP]

The Supreme Court has decided to establish special panels and procedures for cases of national importance.

The court said Thursday that the decision was made at a meeting of Supreme Court justices.

Under the new rules, special panels will be set up to exclusively and intensively hear cases deemed to be of national significance and requiring swift handling, including cases involving charges of insurrection and foreign collusion under the Criminal Act, as well as rebellion under the Military Criminal Act. The rules also call for random case assignments to ensure fairness in trials.

Once a special panel is designated, all cases already under review will be reassigned. When assigning related cases, the court plans to consult with the relevant panels.

The rules will take effect after an administrative notice period in accordance with Article 45 Article 1 of the Administrative Procedures Act.

The Supreme Court said the move is intended to address public and parliamentary concerns over the swiftness and fairness of trials involving cases of national importance.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY JANG GU-SEUL [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]