Chief Justice of Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam Visits Korea

Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of Vietnam visited Korea from December 11 to 17, 2016 upon the invitation of Chief Justice YANG Sung-tae to expand exchanges and strengthen cooperative relationship between the Supreme Court of Korea and Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam.

Since his inauguration in April 2016, Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh placed high priority on the judicial relationship with the Korean judiciary and selected Korea as the first country to visit on his official overseas trip.

Visit of Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh to Korean judiciary began with a courtesy call on Chief Justice YANG Sung-tae at the Supreme Court on December 12, 2016.  While in Korea, he paid visits to various institutions such as Seoul Family Court, Seoul Central District Court, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Training Institute for Court Officials, Judicial Research and Training Institute, and Jeju District Court.

The relationship between the judiciaries of Korea and Vietnam has been strengthening throughout the ongoing Judicial Capacity-Strengthening Project for the Vietnamese Judiciary jointly carried out with KOICA since 2009.  In conjunction with KOICA, the Korean judiciary has been providing material supports such as constructing the Vietnamese Judicial Training School (VJTS) building along with offering expertise by seconding Korean legal experts to Vietnam.  Notable accomplishments of the Project include the elevation of the VJTS into Vietnam Court Academy.  From 2017, follow-up development project will begin so as to provide supports in drafting legislations and improving the judicial system based on the infrastructure established throughout the first and second parts of the Capacity-Strengthening Project for the Vietnamese Judiciary.  During the second part of the Project, the Korean judiciary made long-term secondment of a Korean judge for the first time in its judicial history to assist supporting a judiciary of developing country.

The Project is the largest national project in the Korean history that aims to support the judiciary of developing country, and it rendered valuable assistance to the Vietnamese judiciary to strengthen its judicial capacity based on the international capacity and advanced judicial system of Korea.  By actively carrying out the Project, Korea contributed to the global spread of the rule of law and expects that it will also be beneficial for the national interest in the longer-term perspective.

During the official visit, Chief Justice Nguyen Hoa Binh expressed his gratitude for supporting the Vietnamese judiciary with the Project and the willingness to strengthen the judicial relationship, which will contribute to further improve Vietnam’s judicial system and expand the mutual exchanges and cooperation between the judiciaries of Korea and Vietnam.