Top justice urged to break silence over ‘blacklist of judges’

Senior judge resigns demanding Yang initiate judicial reform

Criticism is mounting against Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae as he continued to ignore calls for judicial reform Friday despite the resignation of a senior judge who demanded that he immediately initiate the long-stalled task.

Yang has been dismissing calls from judges nationwide to clarify allegations that the top court under his direction created a “blacklist of judges.”

The alleged systematic effort was to suppress “anti-conformist” voices within the judiciary by denying promotions to those critical of the judicial administration and Chief Justice Yang. He has about two months before his term ends.

The outrage of judges grew fiercer after an internal investigation concluded there was no such list without searching computers in which password-locked files containing the list were allegedly stored.

A senior judge at the Incheon District Court Choi Han-don said Thursday that he tendered his resignation to Yang a day earlier, hoping the action would prompt him to respond.

Choi is the second judge to have offered to resign in protest, after former senior judge Park Si-hwan did so in 2003 criticizing the seniority-based appointment practice of Supreme Court justices.

“Chief Justice Yang yet again refused to reopen the investigation into the blacklist allegation, citing the same reason. That fundamentally demoralizes judges whose desperate last-ditch efforts to self-reform the judiciary remain gravely challenged,” said Choi in an online community forum of judges.

“I hope my offer to resign, a decision I made out of loyalty, could help Yang change his stance and come up with measures to prevent a recurrence of this unfortunate incident,” he added.

Choi’s resignation came a week after he met with the Vice Chairman at the Office of Court Administration (OCA) under the Supreme Court to convince him of the need to thoroughly investigate the allegation, a measure he called crucial to restore lost public faith. The vice chairman has yet to respond.

Choi was elected leader of a five-member fact-finding committee June 19 when more than 100 judges nationwide convened a meeting to discuss measures about the allegation. The second meeting will be attended by 99 judges next Monday.

The committee’s continued requests to the top court on follow-up measures have since been repeatedly denied.