Court hosts symposium in English
Written by Writer on Monday, November 10th, 2008
Court hosts symposium in English
Dozens of judges gathered in October for a symposium in a conference room of the Supreme Court in southwestern Seoul.
When this seemingly ordinary meeting began, a senior judge addressed the audience.
“Welcome, everyone,” he said, “to the first judicial symposium in English.”
The judge who made the opening speech was Park Seong-soo, director general for international affairs at the top court.
“Judicial symposiums are everyday events in all courts, but there had never been an official one in English,” he said. “I believe that this will be marked as an important stepping stone for the growth of the Korean judiciary culture.”
The event, sponsored by the Supreme Court and the Seoul Administrative Court, was chaired by Patricia Goedde, a full-time law lecturer at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. The presenters, mostly enthusiastic volunteers from courts around the country, were divided into three groups, each with a different topic.
The subjects for the groups were the trial system, the judicial personnel and electronic systems, and global judicial competitiveness. Each group made a presentation on the corresponding topic, answered questions from the audience and participated in the general discussion afterwards.
“Most people think that judges are poor English speakers and even the judges themselves do,” said judge Park. “However, the English speaking skill of the younger judges is quite above general expectations.”
This does not mean that the junior members monopolized the symposium, which is intended to be an annual event. Each group consisted of six or seven judges of different ages and positions. The team leaders were mostly in their 40s and 50s.
“The senior judges may be less exposed to, and therefore less acquainted with the language,” said Judge Jeong Eun-young, 31, from the Busan District Court. “They, however, are the ones with the necessary insight. I think that it was ideal to mix different age groups.”
She thought that it was the intense discussion that took place during the preparations that really mattered, and the symposium would only have been a student level English discussion, had it not been for the seniors.
Even the younger ones, who are rather fluent in English, often have no experience of living abroad. Judge Park, who has also picked up most of his English in Korea, said that this was a stimulating factor regarding the future of English use within the judiciary system.
“This means that one does not necessarily have to have an intense residence experience abroad to become a judge with international competitiveness,” he said.
Goedde said the event went well.
“I was deeply impressed with the high quality of the presentations, then with the level of their English,” she said. “I especially noticed the lively energy from the young female judges. They were very expressive about their ideas.”
She also said that the creative presentation style adopted by one of the groups, which took the form of a dialogue, should be further encouraged in future sessions. She felt that such liveliness was something that was still quite lacking in the Korean judiciary culture.
“I did feel that this symposium, as it is the first one in its line, put more focus on the English language, making the themes a little broad,” Goedde added. “I expect that successive meetings will concentrate more on the details of contemporary judicial issues, such as judicial reform.”
Most of the judges gave positive comments on the symposium. They said that it made them feel as if they were in college discussion classes or court competitions once again.
“Not only was the experience fun and worthwhile, but it may also offer the chance for judges to prepare for international conferences and overseas training,” said judge Jeong. “Speaking in a local court is one thing, and making a public presentation in English is another. I feel that this is a great opportunity.”
Among the audience at the symposium were four judges from Mongolia, Uzbekistan, the Philippines and Myanmar, who are staying here on government scholarship programs.
By Bae Hyun-jung
(tellme@heraldm.com)
The Korea Herald
2008.11.10
