"Discussion based on vote results led to the change"

"More members favored bringing the date forward"

The South Korean national flag and a court flag flutter in front of the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
The South Korean national flag and a court flag flutter in front of the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

The National Judges' Conference has decided to move its regular meeting up by one week, from Dec. 7 to Nov. 30.

Kim Min-wook, a judge at the Chuncheon District Court who serves as the conference's public affairs spokesperson, announced Friday that the steering committee, following discussions based on the results of a vote, had decided to change the date of the second-half 2026 regular meeting to Nov. 30. Kim added that the revised schedule would be communicated to judicial representatives the same day before an official notice was issued.

Kim said members of the conference had been discussing whether to hold an extraordinary session or to reschedule the regular meeting. As a result, it was decided to hold a vote on moving the regular meeting forward. The vote was conducted Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and more members favored moving the meeting to Nov. 30.

The conference's steering committee had announced Tuesday that the regular meeting would be held on Dec. 7. Under Supreme Court rules governing the National Judges' Conference, regular meetings are held on the second Monday of April and the first Monday of December each year, though the date may be changed when necessary. The presiding judge may also convene an extraordinary session when deemed necessary.

Nam Jun-woo, a senior judge at the Seoul Bankruptcy Court, posted a message on the judiciary's internal network, Courtnet, titled "Silence means consent," calling for an extraordinary session of the National Judges' Conference. Nam cited what he described as "an unprecedented situation — one with a high likelihood of recurring regardless of which administration is in power — involving the re-nomination of Supreme Court justices."

As calls from judges for an extraordinary session grew, Kang Dong-won, the presiding judge of the National Judges' Conference and a senior judge at the Seoul Family Court, responded in a Courtnet comment that the conference's leadership was "monitoring external developments and other relevant circumstances, listening to the diverse views of fellow judges, and considering — should urgent need arise — either convening an extraordinary session or moving the Dec. 7 regular meeting forward to November."


yg@heraldcorp.com