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Han Seung-hyeon

On Mar. 22, a renowned South Korean jurist sharply criticized the South Korean judiciary. Han Seung-hyeon, 82, former head of South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection, said that, under the leadership of Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae, the judiciary had been making regressive decisions in cases related to controversial events in the past that reflect excessive deference for the feelings of South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

“For the courts to decide cases in line with changes in the political landscape outside the judiciary and the views and interests of those in power, to curry favor with those people and to move backward in line with that-that’s extremely dangerous, and it goes against our conscience and against justice,” said Han, during a press conference held for the release of his latest book, titled “Contemporary Korean History as Seen from the Bench,” published by Changbi.

Han was addressing recent changes in rulings by the Supreme Court in regard to the emergency measures taken during the Yushin regime, under President Park Chung-hee, the current president’s father.

In 2013, the Supreme Court found that Emergency Measure No. 9, which the regime of former president Park Chung-hee had issued in May 1975, was unconstitutional and invalid because it had violated basic civil rights. But in lawsuits for compensation that victims of that measure have brought against the government since then, the court has repeatedly found that, since the issuance of the emergency measures were “high political acts of state,” the state can be held politically accountable, but it is not responsible for compensating individual citizens.

“After the Supreme Court overturned its own ruling of unconstitutionality with the regressive ruling that the state is not responsible for compensating individuals, justices in the lower courts have been revolting, haven’t they? This has happened in a number of places, including Gwangju and Seoul. That’s why Koreans are looking dubiously at the Supreme Court,” Han said.

Han also expressed his views on the reasons for the judiciary’s recent regressive rulings.

“Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae has told the other justices that they should bear in mind that confusing a facile sense of justice or immature principles with their conscience could in fact reduce the independence of the judiciary, and some of the Supreme Court justices have said that none of the judges in the lower courts should make things difficult for the senior judges. This is regrettable, since it means that they intend to suppress progressive verdicts by judges in the lower courts,” Han said.

“The question of who is the chief justice of the Supreme Court is important for the independence of the judiciary,” he said.

“Incorrect decisions by the judiciary in the past were based on external pressure. Agents from the Korea Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) were on permanent assignment at the court, and the fact that those agents were regularly visiting the courtroom made the interference from the outside obvious. This meant that the courts could excuse their decisions by talking about how external forces were infringing on the rights of the judiciary,” Han said.

“But now, the courts are making incorrect decisions despite the lack of external forces. This is a phenomenon that occurs when the judiciary ingratiates itself to power of its own accord and when justices pursue their own advancement. In effect, judges are saying not that they are on the side of power, but rather that they aspire to seize power for themselves.”

Citing the legal maxim that justice is not justice if it comes too late, Han said, “The reality in Korea is that there are too many cases in which the court fails to uncover the truth and instead whitewashes injustice, too many cases in which the trial is over but justice has yet to be served. What is even more important is that we so easily forget. The reason that I wrote this book and am publishing it is because of a sense that I must keep us from forgetting.”

Han’s new book takes a fresh look at contemporary Korean history through a meticulous reconstruction of the investigation and trial records of 17 cases in which he was personally involved, from the assassination of Lyuh Woon-hyung in 1947 to the impeachment of former president Roh Moo-hyun in 2004.

“I just hope that this book will serve as a lens to help people gain a more correct view of history,” Han said.

By Kang Hee-cheol, staff reporter

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