Honorable fellow citizens!

New Year 2014, the year of the Blue Horse, has come. Together with the members of the judiciary, I send our warm greetings to you. I sincerely hope that all our New Year wishes will come and that our homes be filled with joy and happiness.

Despite great challenges in the past year, our nation worked hard to emerge stronger and reinforce our achievements. Throughout history, the Korean people have overcome countless difficulties by virtue of our indomitable spirit and conviction, turning challenges into opportunities. Many further challenges lie ahead of us in 2014, I hope this will be the year we all come together to address the challenges with wisdom as we advance towards peace and prosperity and drive Korea forward as a world leader.

Fellow citizens,

In every aspect of our operations, each member of the court is committed to communicating with the people, serving them faithfully and upholding public confidence. Our dedication to gain your trust is based on our sincere belief that, without it, the judiciary system cannot properly fulfill its mission for the people it serves. I hope that our sincere commitment will be deeply felt by the people.

To meet the challenges of fulfilling public expectations and needs, much more tasks await us. The judiciary will continue to fulfill its mission with humility and an unshakeable sense of duty to safeguard the stability and peace of our society so that everyone will live a happier life.

As we endeavor our sincere concerted efforts toward building a judiciary which is trusted and welcomed by the people, I ask for all your support and encouragement as we work to bring our efforts to fruition.

Thank you and best wishes for the New Year.

January 1, 2014

YANG Sung-Tae

The Chief Justice