Minister, justice split over reform.

(From The Korea Herald)

Justice Minister Kang Kum-sil and Supreme Court Justice Kim Yong-dam have expressed a sharp difference in opinion over the issue of judiciary reform, which has split the legal community down the middle.

Kim, who became one of the 14 justices at the highest court Sept. 15, denounced a move to restrict the chief justice's authority in an interview with UpKorea, an Internet newspaper, Tuesday.

He believes it is wrong to attempt to bar the chief justice from exercising his constitutional authority to recommend a justice candidate for the Supreme Court by transforming an advisory committee into a decision-making body.

He claimed any such attempt violates the Constitution, which endows the chief justice with both authority and responsibility for securing judicial independence.

The justice criticized Justice Minister Kang for her walkout at a meeting of the advisory committee convened in early August to discuss a list of Supreme Court justice candidates.

Kang and Park Jae-seung, head of the Korean Bar Association, walked out of the meeting, complaining that the discussion was being restricted to the list suggested by Chief Justice Choi Jong-young.