Goyang: Judges nationwide met Monday to discuss their response to the controversy surrounding presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung's election law violation case. The extraordinary meeting of a national judges' association was held at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, with 88 of the 126 members attending in person or virtually.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the association, which comprises 126 delegates of judges at all levels of courts, requires the attendance of a majority to open a meeting. Agenda items are approved with the consent of the majority of attendees. The meeting came amid controversy over the Supreme Court's unusually quick decision this month to send Lee's case back to the Seoul High Court for a retrial.
The Supreme Court stated in its ruling that errors were found in the lower court's decision to acquit the presidential front-runner of charges of making false statements during the previous presidential race in 2021. Lee's liberal Democratic Party (DP) criticized the ruling as interference in the upcoming June 3 presidential election, as a guilty verdict could bar him from running in the race.
Two items were put forth for Monday's meeting: affirming that a trial's independence is a value that must be guaranteed unconditionally and perceiving "with seriousness" the undermining of confidence in the judiciary. Additional items could be introduced later in the meeting.
The judges are expected to discuss the items and decide whether to issue their stance regarding the fallout from Lee's case.