Justice delayed is justice denied

Former justice minister Cho Kuk was sentenced to two years in jail for committing irregularities for his children’s college admissions. It took 38 months from his indictment to the first trial. The appeal trial is in progress. If the case goes to the Supreme Court, the final ruling may not arrive before the parliamentary elections next April.

The first trial on the case over his alleged meddling in the Ulsan mayoral by-election that put a close friend of ex-president Moon Jae-in into the office has been pending for 41 months. Therefore, the possibility of Reps. Hwang Un-ha and Han Byung-do, the defendants, losing their seat before their four-year term end is close to zero. Even if they are fined in the first trial, they can stall time with the second and third trial.

It is not just politically-sensitive trials that are being protracted. There is a pile of cases of first and second trials that have stalled for more than two years. The number jumped since Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su took command in 2017. Civil suits that take more than two years numbered at 5,000 in 2022, compared with around 3,000 in 2017. Many have been scarred by the lengthy trial process. A businessman had already lost his business by the time the court ruled in his favor. One elderly plaintiff died before he won a damage suit he fought for long. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Under Chief Justice Kim, judges’ average process of dealing with a case got longer. It means that judges devote less time and energy to their primary duty. Kim scrapped the existing promotion system where only a few senior judges at district courts could be promoted to the post at the High Court. He made the decision to liberalize the court. The chief justice also downscaled the court administrative function that oversees fairness in trial process.

As a result, judges have lost much of the motivation to work hard. Seniors even pushed their juniors less so as not to lose their favor. Difficult and complicate cases were also pushed aside.

Kim could be judged poorly just for the delays in trials. He has not tried to correct any of the flaws in the judiciary system that have been numerously raised by the academy, judiciary community and media. He has about three months left in his term.

President Yoon Suk Yeol will name the candidate to succeed him. Names are being floated already. The new chief must have the will and capability to correct the “delayed justice” to restore public confidence in the court. Article 27 of our Constitution stipulates that all citizens shall have the right to a speedy trial.