1. Opening Ceremony

The National Court Administration held an opening ceremony at the Court Interpretation Center on July 17, 2024. The newly opened center is located within the Seoul Eastern District Court.

The ceremony commenced with an opening declaration, followed by a report on the center’s development process and plans, a viewing of a trial video featuring video remote interpreting, congratulatory remarks, an unveiling ceremony, and a tour of the Court Interpretation Center’s main facilities.  

About 30 court officials attended the event, including Vice Minister BAE Hyong-won of the National Court Administration and Chief Judge PARK Bum-seok of the Seoul Eastern District Court.

2. Purpose and Overview

The National Court Administration established the Court Interpretation Center within the Seoul Eastern District Court building to provide standardized interpretation and translation services for courts nationwide through video conferencing hearings.

Compared to large cities like Seoul, which have access to a range of interpreters for various languages, smaller regional courts often need help securing qualified interpreters.

To address these disparities, the Court Interpretation Center aims to provide consistent interpretation services across all regions by employing certified, skilled interpreters to work full-time and deliver high-standard video interpretation services to courts nationwide.

3. Progress and Target Languages

In response to the increasing number of foreign residents in Korea, the National Court Administration planned a full-time interpreter system based on video hearings in the second half of 2022. It worked in full gear to prepare for the launch of the Court Interpretation Center, which was scheduled to begin on July 1, 2024.

The Court Interpretation Center officially commenced operations on July 1 and now provides legal interpretation and translation services in four high-demand foreign languages (Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, and English), along with sign language, to protect the rights of individuals with hearing impairments to receive a fair trial, available at courts nationwide.

4. Congratulatory Remarks

Vice Minister BAE Hyong-won of the National Court Administration delivered the following remarks:

As Korea transitions into a multicultural and multiethnic society, there has been a significant increase in cases involving foreign parties in criminal, administrative, and family proceedings.

Providing accurate and neutral interpretation services for foreign parties and witnesses in the courtroom is crucial for uncovering substantive truths and safeguarding the right to a fair trial for foreign litigants.

With the launch of the Court Interpretation Center, he hopes to further strengthen public trust in judicial institutions while improving the quality of legal interpretation services within the judiciary. Staff members are asked to take continued interest and efforts to achieve this goal.

5. Anticipated Advantages

1) Enhancing interpretation services in small district courts where it is challenging to secure interpreters, 2) Utilizing video remote interpreting from the Court Interpretation Center with fewer constraints regarding time and location, leading to better management of court schedules, 3) More efficient use of the budget allocated for court interpretation services, 4) Reduced workload of a person in charge of designating interpreters.

6. Future Plans

The Court Interpretation Center is reviewing the possibility of 1) expanding interpretation services to include other high-demand foreign languages such as Arabic and Uzbek and 2) establishing a process that allows district courts to access interpretation services for less commonly spoken languages through the Interpretation Center, given the difficulty in finding interpreters for these languages.