- The Supreme Court Regulations are amended, and the design of the grand bench is reformed.-

[The Supreme Court Regulations were amended for oral arguments to be held in the form of topical discussion.]
¡Û At the meeting of the Supreme Court Justices' Council held on December 15, 2017, the Supreme Court of Korea amended ‘The Regulations on the Oral Proceedings at the Supreme Court’ in order to encourage parties to make an active use of oral arguments. This is to fulfill the original purpose of a public hearing.

¡Û Overview
- In order for vivid statements, not unilateral prosaic statements like a report-style, to be made through questions and answers with the bench, parties’ oral arguments and witnesses’ statements at the hearing may be presented by issues and by topics. (Article 5)
- To consider a wide range of public opinions and to fully try cases of public importance, the Supreme Court as a highest court extended a scope of witness to a person who is appropriate to make a statement regarding public interests. → As well as professors, interested parties such as members of public interest organizations, professional groups, or interest groups may be designated as a witness depending on cases. (Article 4)
 These regulations are also applied to the arguments of a case where a witness is not designated. (Articles 1 and 9)
- Depending on cases, a public hearing can be held only for arguments of representatives of both parties. 

¡Û Furthermore, the Court will extensively increase the number of public hearings.

[Additional installation of lecterns for attorneys: the distance from the Justices’ bench was shortened from 5 to 3.9 meters]
¡Û The existing Grand Courtroom, whose shortest distance between the bench and the attorney tables was 4.9 meters, was renovated and now the distance is greatly shortened, so dialogue and discussion can be made. 
- In the distance of 5 meters or so, only unilateral presentation is possible but dialogue was not possible.

¡Û Lecterns for attorneys were additionally installed in front of the attorney tables for both parties. In the past, lecterns were on the attorney tables, but now two adjustable lecterns are separately installed one meter ahead of the attorney tables in the direction of the bench. The distance between the bench and the lectern is approximately 3.9 meters, so Justices and attorneys can see facial expressions and converse with each other.

¡Û As an argument will proceed by issues and topics, it is expected that attorneys for both petitioners and respondents need to prepare their oral arguments with more scrutiny. 
- With the installation of lecterns, the number of attorneys who can participate in an argument increased up to six persons.

[The artwork in the conference room was moved to the Grand Courtroom.]
¡Û The artwork of the late Mr. Lee Du-sik has been displayed on the left side of the wall in the Grand Courtroom since December 13, 2017.
- Displaying artworks in the courtroom is not unusual in many countries; however this is the first time for the Korean Courts.

¡Û The artwork was originally displayed at the conference room on the 16th floor, the restricted area which requires security access for entrance, but it is now open to the public. As the Grand Courtroom is one of the Supreme Court tour spots, a person whoever visits the Grand Courtroom can appreciate the artwork. The Supreme Court shares an opportunity to appreciate the artworks in its possession with the people, and will replace artworks in a regular basis.

¡Û The Supreme Court is seeking for the ways how to provide the list and relevant materials of artworks which have been displayed at the Supreme Court to the public.