Low-ranking judges are expected to hold a series of general meetings from Wednesday to denounce the current evaluation system that could harm their independence.

Their move, ignited by the court leadership’s decisions to discipline or fire liberal judges citing low evaluation scores is expected to cause a stir over whether the judges’ expression of political ideology outside of the courtroom can result in demotion or dismissal. The meeting of judges is the first in three years since they held a nationwide meeting to protest Supreme Court Justice Shin Young-chul’s remarks, seen as guiding lower-ranking judges toward ruling against those who rallied against President Lee Myung-bak.

According to judiciary insiders, 24 judges of the Seoul Western District Court are scheduled to hold the emergency meeting at 4 p.m. Friday, and courts in the eastern, southern, northern and central parts of the capital are also to follow suit in the near future. Judges of the Suwon, Jeonju and Changwon district courts plus several others have been near an agreement to call for the meeting on the job performance evaluation system.

In the meeting, the judges, mostly independent judges ruling on their own rather than assisting or being assisted by fellows, are expected to urge the Supreme Court to revise the personnel evaluation system focused on subjective observance reports by the superiors. They are also expected to ask the top court to disclose the annual evaluation results so that those ranked at the bottom may work harder to make up for low grades.

“The court system is a strict top-down system. The Supreme Court governs everything and orders heads of district courts to take full control of individual judges. Though they have every right to appeal to the bosses about the evaluation, no one has ever stepped forward to break the unspoken rule,” a judge in Seoul told a local daily.

He said that many judges have been unable to keep complete independence in making rulings for fear of the evaluations. “In many political cases, the court had to stay silent to the issues. I think that is reversely political,” he added.

The meeting was first called by a group of judges infuriated by the Supreme Court’s recent decision to dismiss Seo Ki-ho, a Seoul Northern District Court judge, who had made headlines for posting slew of articles mocking President Lee on his Facebook account. The Supreme Court said Seo’s 10-year work evaluation results were among the bottom 2 percent, making him unqualified for rehiring. But his peers alleged that Seo’s liberal views upset the judiciary, which has recently been led by right-leaning figures.

“I cannot accept the decision. It is a clear violation of a man’s personal territory,” Seo said in an interview. He said he will take the case to the administrative court or the Constitutional Court.

Alongside Seo, Judge Lee Jung-yeol of Changwon District Court was recently given a six-month suspension from his duty for revealing judges’ inner agreements for a specific trial. Lee had been at the center of controversy for denouncing the government and the president several times through social media. Critics argue the suspension order was more of a warning for the liberal-leaning judges.

“It is unlikely that the judges will directly refer to Seo and Lee’s cases in the upcoming meeting,” a judge preparing for the meeting said. “But the meeting may play a role in preventing peers from being discriminated against unfairly in the future.”

The general meetings of local judges have been used as a channel to express complaints against the judiciary. In 2003, the participants signed a petition urging gender equality in the courtroom, which helped Jeon Hyo-sook be appointed as a justice in the Constitutional Court and Kim Young-ran at the Supreme Court.

“The meeting itself could be a huge shock to the leadership,” a court observer said.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)