Presiding Judge Nam Joon-woo calls for extraordinary meeting of judges' council amid Supreme Court justice re-nomination controversy
Nam Joon-woo, presiding judge of the Seoul Rehabilitation Court, posted an article titled "The Meaning of Silence (Calling for the Convening of the Conference)" on the judiciary's internal intranet, CourtNet, on the 3rd, urging an extraordinary meeting of the National Conference of Judges' Representatives over the Supreme Court justice re-nomination controversy. Citing Article 6 (Duties) of the conference rules, Judge Nam quoted Oliver Goldsmith's words, "Silence gives consent." He called for holding a separate extraordinary meeting before the regular session scheduled for Dec. 7 to voice the judges' position on the matter.
The National Conference of Judges' Representatives is a body of representative judges elected from courts at all levels, holding regular sessions every April and December. An extraordinary meeting can be convened when the chair deems it necessary, and must be convened without delay if one-fifth or more of members request it, stating the purpose and reason for the meeting. The conference held two extraordinary meetings last May when controversy inside and outside the judiciary grew over the Supreme Court's ruling in President Lee Jae-myung's election law violation case. At the time, judicial credibility and judicial independence were among the main agenda items, but all were voted down. The agenda for the upcoming regular meeting on Dec. 7 has yet to be set.
Meanwhile, on the judiciary's internal network, judges have been voicing their opinions one after another on pushing for a parliamentary investigation into Chief Justice Cho and pressuring him with impeachment. On the 30th of last month, Judge Seong Chan-yong of the Bucheon Branch of the Incheon District Court, in a post titled "On the Novel Animal Farm," expressed his support for judicial independence by drawing parallels to George Orwell's novel "Animal Farm," which drew more than 10 comments including "I empathize" and "I agree."
