On April 9, 2026, the Supreme Court convened a National Conference of Chief Presiding Judges, chaired by the Vice Minister of National Court Administration. Thirty-three Chief Presiding Judges attended the conference, including the Vice Minister. 

During the conference, the Vice Minister emphasized that the judiciary serves as the ultimate guardian of the rule of law and must protect judicial independence while diligently fulfilling its core responsibility to provide swift and fair trials. He urged the chief presiding judges to lead necessary reforms and highlighted the importance of engaging in in-depth discussions to meet public expectations. 

Additionally, the chief presiding judges from courts across the nation received briefings from the National Court Administration on key pending judicial issues.

The briefings specifically addressed the following key areas: 

1. Improving the management system for long-pending cases to ensure swift trials, refining the statement of grounds for appeal system, and optimizing the style and structure of written judgments to guarantee high-quality trials. 

2. Enhancing the summary trial procedure and the trial in absentia system to support the trial-centered principle, as well as activating and consolidating the participatory trial system. 

3. Utilizing Financial MyData to improve access to justice in insolvency cases, and establishing comprehensive family court support centers and visitation centers to strengthen the guardianship and welfare functions of family courts. 

4. Building an AI platform and developing models for trial support, while also reinforcing public services related to judicial informatization.

Amid concerns that the introduction of the “crime of distorting the law” could lead to a rise in complaints against judges and intensify the avoidance of criminal court assignments, participants exchanged views on various support measures, including providing legal counsel, establishing a dedicated organization, drafting guidance manuals, and revising internal regulations for ungrounded litigation support, to ensure that criminal judges can faithfully perform their judicial duties without intimidation.

Subsequently, the chief presiding judges of courts nationwide discussed “The Deficit in the Public Defender Budget and Countermeasures” as their second topic.

Following the briefings, the chief presiding judges discussed measures to support criminal court judges. 

Amid concerns about delayed payments to court-appointed attorneys due to a budget deficit resulting from a recent increase in public defense assignments, the meeting examined various countermeasures. 

The third topic was the current operational status of the Appraisal Procedure Management System and the Civil Appellate Brief System. Since it has been over a year since both systems were implemented, this session shared insights for improvement and further development.