Justice Noh Kyung-pil delivers his inaugural address at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Justice Noh Kyung-pil delivers his inaugural address at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

Justice Noh Kyung-pil, the newly appointed head of the National Court Administration, said Tuesday he feels "a heavy sense of responsibility and deep sense of mission" in taking on the role of leading judicial administration "at a difficult and important time."

Noh made the remarks in his inaugural address at a ceremony held Tuesday morning at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. "The environment surrounding the judiciary has been constantly changing," he said. "But we now stand before a wave of change greater than at any time before."

He said the sweeping changes to the judicial system the country has recently witnessed had become "an opportunity for deep reflection on whether our judiciary has failed to adequately meet the expectations and interest of the public." He added that he intended to begin fulfilling his mission "by listening carefully to every voice of the people, truly understanding their intent, and making efforts to reflect it."

He also stressed that the judiciary could "rebuild itself as a more trusted institution by upholding the values of the rule of law and the Constitution while communicating more closely with the public."

Noh said that to provide the public with high-quality judicial services, "court members must above all be able to work in a stable and healthy environment." He warned that "outside pressure and burdens that make it difficult for judges to conduct independent trials and for court members to carry out their duties in a stable manner are growing."

He also offered condolences, saying "not long ago, we had the heartbreaking experience of losing a judge who had carried out his judicial duties more diligently than anyone." "I offer my deepest words of comfort to all court members who have quietly endured those difficulties and that pain," he said.

The remarks were widely interpreted as a reference to the late Seoul High Court Judge Shin Jong-oh. Judge Shin presided over the appellate trial involving first lady Kim Keon Hee on charges including stock price manipulation at Deutsch Motors, and died in May. Concerns have repeatedly been raised that judges handling criminal trials at Seoul High Court have been saddled with excessive workloads following the establishment of a dedicated insurrection trial panel, among other factors.

Noh pledged that the National Court Administration would serve as "a strong shield so that all court members can carry out their duties with conviction, in accordance with the law and principles," adding that it would work to "ease the burden on those in the most demanding positions, expand the human and material foundations needed for them to focus on their duties, and develop effective support measures."

The Supreme Court announced Friday that Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae had appointed Justice Noh as head of the National Court Administration, effective Tuesday. The National Court Administration is a Supreme Court body that oversees judicial administrative affairs, including personnel, budgeting, accounting, facility management and research on the judicial system; the position is held by a sitting Supreme Court justice.

The post had been vacant for more than four months following the resignation of Justice Park Young-jae on Feb. 27. Park stepped down in protest against the Democratic Party of Korea's push to pass the so-called "three judicial reform bills" — legislation introducing a crime of judicial distortion, a system allowing constitutional appeals of court rulings, and an expansion of the number of Supreme Court justices — after which Deputy Administrator Ki Woo-jong had been serving as acting head.

With Chief Justice Jo having appointed a new head of the National Court Administration, some observers say discussions over the nomination of a successor justice could gain momentum. The nomination of a replacement for former Justice Noh Tae-ak, who retired in March, has yet to be made, amid disagreements between Cheong Wa Dae and the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Jo had left the administrator post vacant to avoid a gap in the work of the small bench panels, which involve 12 of the 14 Supreme Court justices, excluding the chief justice and the court administration head. Now that a new head has been appointed, further delays in selecting a successor justice are expected to place an even greater burden on the court. Justice Lee Heung-gu is also set to retire in September.

Ki appeared before the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and was asked by Democratic Party lawmakers when the chief justice planned to nominate a new justice. "I would not say there have been no consultations at all, but we will make efforts," Ki said. He added that while consultations had been "intermittent," they were ongoing, and that he found it "quite difficult to know how much I can say."


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