Undue Privileges / 부당한 특권

In the Korean court, there is a unique, yet very unwholesome practice – judges and prosecutors give preferential treatment to cases handled by their former colleagues who have gone into private practice. Because of this advantage, retired judges and prosecutors have a higher rate of winning cases in their first years as attorneys, which mean they easily get more clients and make more money than their competitors.

Strictly speaking, this amounts to corruption or at least collusion, and there have been public calls to address the problem, but the practice has persisted. The issue came to the fore again recently – this time over a former Supreme Court justice who seeks to join a major law firm.

Saying the former justice, Cha Ha-sung, could benefit from the unethical practice, the Korean Bar Association sent back the papers Cha had filed to open legal service. Because Cha already has a lawyer’s license, there are no legal grounds for the bar association to reject Cha’s registration for opening a private practice. Some also point out that the KBA’s action infringes upon Cha;s right to choose his occupation.

Cha also insisted the he wants to join the law firm not to serve as a court attorney but as the head of public welfare foundation to be run by the firm. But from an ethical point of view, the bar association’s position should get support. It is right for the association to say that Supreme Court justices should not open private practices after retirement because their engagement could influence the rulings of his former colleagues in the top court and other junior judges.

The Cha case should put fresh pressure in the nation’s legal community to terminate the unjustifiable practice. Most of all, judicial justice could be compromised by the “special consideration” given to cases being handles by former judges and prosecutors

 

- unwholesome : 불건전한, 도덕적으로 해로운

- amount to ~ : ~ 에 이르다. ~ 와 해당되다 -> 부패 혹은 최소한 결탁으로 이어진다.

- come to the fore : 표면화되다. 주목받다.         cf.  Recently real estate problems have come to the fore as a major issue