(Unofficial translation)

It is a pleasure to meet you all. Today, we have gathered to commemorate the 70th anniversary of our recovery of judicial sovereignty as well as to reflect on the independence of the Judicial Branch and the principle of the rule of law. Our forebears, when they regained judicial sovereignty seven decades ago, were deeply moved by the simple fact that trials in Korea would be conducted in the Korean language by Korean judges and prosecutors. At long last, Korean courts could make fair judgments according to the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Korea and the consciences of our judges. 

The law is the last refuge for honest, law-abiding citizens facing unjustness and unfairness. Courts of law are where they go to appeal for justice.     

Judicial rulings determine the fates of both individuals and entire communities. The vast majority of the more than 3,000 judges in our country dedicate themselves wholly to the task of ensuring fair and just decisions. To draft their rulings, they stay up late, reading the record again and again lest some detail be overlooked. The hard work of judges and court officials, who have labored this way to fulfill the weighty responsibilities of judgment, has become a force to help maintain public trust.     

Today, this weighty sense of mission is felt all the more as we mark the 70th anniversary of the Judicial Branch. Let me convey my encouragement and gratitude to Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su and all the justices and staff who have prepared this event with a sense of duty graver than at any time prior.   

Ladies and gentlemen, 

The Judicial Branch is an essential means for the citizens of this country to realize their popular sovereignty. The Judicial Branch as well as individual judges are granted independence to ensure the separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers. This independence is the last bastion for preventing dictatorship and abuse of state power and protecting the rights and interests of citizens.   

There were times under authoritarian governments when the independence of the Judicial Branch and judges was undermined by circumstances stemming from the Yusin Constitution and the government’s emergency measures. However, neither the judges’ desire for the independence of judicial authority nor the people’s yearning for democracy has ever abated.   

In 1971, the Supreme Court, in the interest of protecting human dignity and equal rights, declared that restricting the right to file claims for government restitution was unconstitutional. This ruling went down in history as a landmark decision that upheld the value of the Constitution. The June Democratic Struggle in 1987 gave rise to a new Constitution, providing the impetus for the reform of the Judicial Branch as well.    

In February 1988, over 430 younger judges declared court independence and judicial democracy, standing up to forces opposed to change and reform. In 1993, more than 40 judges presiding over single-judge civil cases in the Seoul Central District Court urged members of the Judicial Branch to engage in self-reflection and demanded genuine independence for the courts.   

The courts, through retrials and other measures, have rectified wrongfully made past rulings. Crimes committed by national institutions during the time of rule by military dictatorships and authoritarian governments continue to be adjudicated. The democracy of the Republic of Korea advances along with these efforts.     

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Our citizens today yearn for a properly functioning nation, and we are creating a nation of justice. The light of 17 million candles rekindled the constitutional spirit, and popular sovereignty is protected by the Constitution so restored. All public officials in not just the Executive but also the Legislative and Judicial branches, myself included, stand upon the foundation of the rule of law that the people reestablished.     

I am acutely aware of how weighty it is to uphold the spirit of the Candlelight Revolution. The Judicial and Legislative branches, I believe, feel a comparable weight upon them. We must live up to the yearnings and expectations of the people without fail.    

The Judicial Branch is now tasked with the grave undertaking of having to regain public trust. Suspicions about “abuse of judiciary power” and “deal-making for verdicts” during the previous administration are still shaking public trust in the judiciary to the core. This crisis is unprecedented for the judiciary.  

This is also a devastating and painful ordeal for the members of the Judicial Branch. However, the people’s insistence that sound judicial independence be upheld is also an opportunity for reform given by them to the judiciary. Suspicions must be thoroughly investigated without fail, and if wrongdoing is found, the Judicial Branch must take its own corrective action.   

I believe that the Judicial Branch has the capability to respond to the people’s wishes. The courage exhibited inside the courts in the past preserved the independence of the Judicial Branch. Likewise, the Judicial Branch will overcome the present crisis on its own. Further down the road, this will bring about great reform – the democratization of the Judicial Branch.  

I am convinced the Supreme Court will reform the judicial system through its judicial advancement committee in accordance with the people’s wishes. I hope that the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Judicial Reform will erect a buttress to support this cause in line with the people’s desire to see unwavering judicial reform.

Ladies and gentlemen,

More than anything else, our people will find hope in the Judicial Branch through the judges’ sincere efforts to reform. Individual judges’ sincerity in reaching fair judgments and the urgent need to win back the trust of the people will serve as an opportunity for the courts to be reborn. The courts will once again be the last bastion for protecting the people’s human rights.    

I, too, will guarantee the complete independence of the Judicial Branch and judges, so that the sacred oaths taken by individual judges can be followed freely in any court and for any case.  

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the restoration of our judicial sovereignty, and I look forward to the beginning of a new chapter in the history of our judicial reform. I believe that the Judicial Branch, renewed on the basis of the people’s trust, will be the most reliable safeguard for protecting the freedom and rights of the people.  

I wish the judiciary lasting progress.

Thank you.