Jeon-gwan ye-u
Encyclopedia
Jeon-gwan ye-u refers to an informal arrangement in the South Korea
n legal system whereby retired judges and public prosecutors who go on to become lawyers in private practise receive special treatment from their incumbent former colleagues. A paper from the Korea Institute of Public Administration
describes it as one of the four major problems caused by the way in which South Korea appoints judicial officers.
It is variously translated into English as:
and appointment of judges. All law students who pass the bar examination (formerly limited to 300 students, though the cutoff was raised to 1,000 in the early 2000s) attend a two-year course at the Judicial Training Research Institute before being considered for appointment as a judge or public prosecutor; this training offers them the opportunity to develop close bonds with one another. Those who are not appointed have the option of becoming defense attorneys, or pursuing other professions. Judges and public prosecutors are thus appointed to their positions at a young age, and many retire early, in their 40s and 50s, in order to work as private attorneys.
, the practise may extend as far as former judges and prosecutors being given a favourable ruling at their first trial in private practise, regardless of its merits. Because of the perception that it will offer them an advantage in their cases, clients thus prefer to engage the services of defense attorneys who have previously served as judges or public prosecutors. Judges-turned-lawyers are thus able to command much higher fees than their competitors. These factors have resulted in "deep-rooted distrust in the criminal justice system" by the public.
In 2003, a Supreme Court of South Korea
spokesperson admitted that cases taken up by former Supreme Court officials had a far lower rate of dismissal than cases in general. In a 2006 article about the jeon-gwan ye-u phenomenon, South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reported that of 32 former Supreme Court judges who had retired since 1990, 29 had since gone into private practise, indicating the potential extent of the phenomenon. The group of retired judges as a whole exhibited an unusually high acceptance rate for their cases of 63.2%, among whom the two highest were Yi Don-hoe at 94.3% and Song Jin-hun at 92.7%. A 2008 statistical analysis of the problem in the Hankook Ilbo
, centred on seven former Supreme Court judges who retired in 2005 to take up private practise, found that from July 2006 to June 2008, only 26% of their 225 civil cases which went before the Supreme Court were dismissed, in comparison to an average rate of 58 to 63% for all lawyers. Below the Supreme Court, the ratio of former District Court officials who took on district court criminal cases from 2004 to 2006 (as a proportion of all lawyers appearing before the district court) ranged from a high of 100% (18 out of 18) in Suwon
, to a low of 32% (9 out of 28) in Cheongju
; eight out of the nine top-ranking districts in this regard were in the Seoul National Capital Area
.
due to pressure from the assembly's own Legal Affairs Committee as well as the legal profession at large; however, it was again proposed in 1999, and passed in January 2000. In December 2004, the Judicial Reform Commission proposed the creation of a voluntary central judicial ethics council as a means of controlling the problem. In March 2010, the Grand National Party
proposed widening the restrictions, barring judges-turned-lawyers from taking cases in the entire region where they previously served as district judges for a period of one year.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n legal system whereby retired judges and public prosecutors who go on to become lawyers in private practise receive special treatment from their incumbent former colleagues. A paper from the Korea Institute of Public Administration
Korea Institute of Public Administration
The Korea Institute of Public Administration is a government-sponsored research institute in South Korea, established in October 1991. They do research not just on current issues of public administration but historical ones as well, as in 2009 when a researcher presented a seminar paper about the...
describes it as one of the four major problems caused by the way in which South Korea appoints judicial officers.
It is variously translated into English as:
- "privileges of former post"
- "allowing privileges associated with one's former post"
- "special consideration to former judges and prosecutors"
Roots
Jeon-gwan ye-u is said to be a result of South Korea's system of legal educationLaw school in South Korea
In South Korea, a law school is an undergraduate institution where students major in law and are awarded a Légum Baccalaureus, or LL.B. . Following graduation, candidates must take and pass the bar exam. Under the present judiciary exam , the number of new lawyers admitted each year is limited to...
and appointment of judges. All law students who pass the bar examination (formerly limited to 300 students, though the cutoff was raised to 1,000 in the early 2000s) attend a two-year course at the Judicial Training Research Institute before being considered for appointment as a judge or public prosecutor; this training offers them the opportunity to develop close bonds with one another. Those who are not appointed have the option of becoming defense attorneys, or pursuing other professions. Judges and public prosecutors are thus appointed to their positions at a young age, and many retire early, in their 40s and 50s, in order to work as private attorneys.
Effects
The exact nature of the "special consideration" may vary. Prosecutors and judges, for their part deny that there is any impropriety at all. However, as stated by the Doosan EncyclopediaDoosan Encyclopedia
Doosan Encyclopedia is a Korean language encyclopedia published by Doosan Donga . The encyclopedia is based on the Dong-A Color Encyclopedia , which comprises 30 volumes and began to be published in 1982 by Dong-A Publishing...
, the practise may extend as far as former judges and prosecutors being given a favourable ruling at their first trial in private practise, regardless of its merits. Because of the perception that it will offer them an advantage in their cases, clients thus prefer to engage the services of defense attorneys who have previously served as judges or public prosecutors. Judges-turned-lawyers are thus able to command much higher fees than their competitors. These factors have resulted in "deep-rooted distrust in the criminal justice system" by the public.
In 2003, a Supreme Court of South Korea
Supreme Court of South Korea
The Supreme Court of Korea is the highest court in South Korea. It is located in Seoul.Articles 101-110 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea establish the Supreme Court and enumerates its powers and responsibilities.-Composition:...
spokesperson admitted that cases taken up by former Supreme Court officials had a far lower rate of dismissal than cases in general. In a 2006 article about the jeon-gwan ye-u phenomenon, South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reported that of 32 former Supreme Court judges who had retired since 1990, 29 had since gone into private practise, indicating the potential extent of the phenomenon. The group of retired judges as a whole exhibited an unusually high acceptance rate for their cases of 63.2%, among whom the two highest were Yi Don-hoe at 94.3% and Song Jin-hun at 92.7%. A 2008 statistical analysis of the problem in the Hankook Ilbo
Hankook Ilbo
Hankook Ilbo is a vernacular daily newspaper published in Seoul, South Korea. It is a sister paper of The Korea Times. "Hankook" means "Korea" in Korean....
, centred on seven former Supreme Court judges who retired in 2005 to take up private practise, found that from July 2006 to June 2008, only 26% of their 225 civil cases which went before the Supreme Court were dismissed, in comparison to an average rate of 58 to 63% for all lawyers. Below the Supreme Court, the ratio of former District Court officials who took on district court criminal cases from 2004 to 2006 (as a proportion of all lawyers appearing before the district court) ranged from a high of 100% (18 out of 18) in Suwon
Suwon
Suwon is the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. A major city of over a million inhabitants, Suwon lies approximately south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety"....
, to a low of 32% (9 out of 28) in Cheongju
Cheongju
Cheongju is the capital city of Chungcheongbuk-do , South Korea. The city is divided into two wards , Heungdeok-gu and Sangdang-gu .-History:...
; eight out of the nine top-ranking districts in this regard were in the Seoul National Capital Area
Seoul National Capital Area
The Seoul National Capital Area is a region located in the north-west of South Korea. It is generally referred to as Sudogwon in Korean, and contains three different administrative districts; Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi-do....
.
Suppression efforts
Efforts were made as early as 1973 to control the issue of jeon-gwan ye-u, by placing limits on the ability of retired prosecutors and judges to open their own law firms. Later, a new law was proposed in 1998, specifing that a lawyer who was once a judge or a prosecutor must not serve as a lawyer within two years at criminal trials of a court of which he was a member directly before. The law did not pass the National AssemblyNational Assembly of South Korea
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea is a 299-member unicameral legislature. The latest general elections were held on April 9, 2008. Single-member constituencies comprise 245 of the National Assembly's seats, while the remaining 54 are allocated by proportional representation...
due to pressure from the assembly's own Legal Affairs Committee as well as the legal profession at large; however, it was again proposed in 1999, and passed in January 2000. In December 2004, the Judicial Reform Commission proposed the creation of a voluntary central judicial ethics council as a means of controlling the problem. In March 2010, the Grand National Party
Grand National Party
The Grand National Party is a conservative political party in South Korea. Its Korean name, Hannara, has a double meaning as "Great National" and "Korean National." The GNP holds a majority of seats in the 18th Assembly, lasting from 2008 to 2012....
proposed widening the restrictions, barring judges-turned-lawyers from taking cases in the entire region where they previously served as district judges for a period of one year.
Sources
|publisher=Korea Institute of Public Administration|month=December|year=2007|last=Jang|first=Jun-o|last2=Yi|first2=Cheon-hyeon|last3=Choe|first3=Sun-yong}}-
- Freely available draft version: . Slides here. Note that the pagination differs significantly.
External links
- Unjust Justice: Retired Judges Should Not Seek 'Special Treatment', an English-language editorial from The Korea TimesThe Korea TimesThe Korea Times is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea, along with The Korea Herald and The JoongAng Daily. It is part of the same newspaper group as Hankook Ilbo, a major Korean language daily...
Full text of a statement by Sin Jung-cheol to the Discussion Group on Special Treatment for Former Officials, from Law Issue (a South Korean legal magazine)