Author | 국제팀 | Hit | 1283 | Date | 2023-12-22 오전 9:37:00 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subject | [Statement]Welcome the Approved Increase in Compensation for Public Defenders |
||||
Download |
|
||||
Today, the National Assembly approved a budget bill that includes a $ 3,038,461.54 increase in compensation for public defenders. Consequently, the compensation for general public defenders is set to increase to $ 423.08 in 2024.
The
Korean Bar Association, led by president Kim Young-hoon, selected the increase
in public defender compensation as one of its key projects before and after the
start of the 52nd executive board’s term, and has proactively promoted it. Even
before taking office, Kim Young-hoon founded the ‘Public Defender and public
service advocates Association’, serving as its first president. He conducted
research on ‘Measures to improve the remuneration payment system for efficient
and faithful public defenders’, aiming to make it a reality, including
increasing the remuneration of public defenders. As a result, the compensation
for public defenders increased from $
346.15 to $ 384.62 in 2023.
The
reality is that the compensation for public defenders still does not
sufficiently reflect the inflation rate and the increase in actual expenses
incurred by lawyers in the process of handling cases. When preparing the budget
for the Supreme Court, the Korean Bar Association expressed and reflected the
opinion of increasing the budget for public defenders by $ 9,230,769.23 ($ 7,384,615.38 for general public defenders and $ 1,846,153.85 for public defenders only), but in the
budget submitted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the entire amount was
cut due to the deepening government budget deficit.
Accordingly,
the president of the Korean Bar Association and related working-level officials
have continued to make efforts to appeal the legitimacy of the budget plan by
visiting the National Assembly frequently over the past two months and persuading
members of the National Assembly. In this process, the contribution of the vice
president of legislation support a new position established by the current
executive office, was also significant.
Originally,
the Korean Bar Association’s right to request a budget was not recognized, so
in the past, the Korean Bar Association’s executive board responded in a
relatively passive manner to the lawyer-related budget of the Supreme Court and
the Ministry of Justice. However, this 52nd executive board took proactive
action by directly visiting the National Assembly and running to establish and
pass a budget plan related to lawyers. As a result, with the approval of this
budget, the compensation for general public defenders, which was $ 384.62 in 2023, is planned to increase to $ 423.08 in 2024.
Increasing
the remuneration of public defenders is not only limited to the remuneration of
public defenders but also acts as a standard when appointing attorney members
in other public institutions and organizations, so it is a very important
project as it takes the first step in realizing attorney remuneration.
We
welcome the National Assembly’s approval of the Korean Bar Association’s
request to increase the compensation for public defenders. The approval of the
budget for increasing the compensation for public defenders through the
National Assembly is a key accomplishment achieved by the 52nd executive board
of the Korean Bar Association. Originally, the public defender’s remuneration
budget was under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, but the effect of
increasing the remuneration ultimately leads to the protection of the public’s
legal interests through the enhancement of lawyers’ public defender work.
Therefore, the Korean Bar Association will continue to strive to realize
attorney remuneration and protect and expand professional services regardless
of ministry or jurisdiction. We declare that we will continue to make efforts
for this.
2023. 12. 21. President of Korean Bar Association
KIM Young- hoon |