Supreme Court Justice Noh Kyungpil Appointed as New Head of Court Administration Office

Vacancy Filled After Over Four Months

On July 10, Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hui-dae announced that Noh Kyungpil, Supreme Court Justice (age 62, 23rd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), will be appointed as the new head of the Court Administration Office on July 14.

Noh Kyungpil, new Chief of the Court Administration. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Noh Kyungpil, the newly appointed head, began his judicial career in 1997 and has since served as a Supreme Court research judge, judge at the Seoul High Court, presiding judge at the Gwangju High Court, and both presiding and chief presiding judge at the Suwon High Court. He was appointed as a Supreme Court Justice in August 2024. According to the Supreme Court, Noh worked as a research judge at the Supreme Court for five years, reviewing numerous constitutional and administrative law disputes, and has been at the forefront of promoting and realizing the protection of basic civil rights, the right to participate in administrative procedures, and tax justice.

He is regarded both within and outside the judiciary as a respected figure, known for his professional legal knowledge, rational and fair judgment, integrity, and character.

An official from the Supreme Court stated, "Noh, as the new head, is the right person to dedicate himself to establishing a prompt and fair judicial system for the people and to enhancing public trust in the judiciary, through his leadership of listening and inclusion, as well as communication with not only court members but also various sectors of society."

With the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Noh, the vacancy for head of the Court Administration Office—empty for over four months—is expected to be filled. The head oversees judicial administration and is concurrently held by one of the Supreme Court Justices.

His predecessor, Supreme Court Justice Park Youngjae (age 56, 22nd class), took office as head on January 16 but expressed his intention to step down on February 27, just 42 days into his term, due to the aftermath of the enactment of the so-called 'Three Justice Laws.'

Justice Park had served as the presiding judge in the Supreme Court appeal trial of the Public Official Election Act case involving then-presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, which was remanded in May last year. After his appointment as head, he faced pressure to resign from hardline members of the Democratic Party on the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. In addition, as the judiciary’s concerns over the passage of the Three Justice Laws materialized, he took responsibility and chose to step down.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.