Many in Korea believe that the foreigners residing in the country are not given fair and equal treatment in its courts. This is because there is a lack of professional interpreters in Korea that are able to interpret during court proceedings or trials.

Unlike other countries around the world, Korea has not adopted a court interpreter accreditation system. Such a system, used in America, Australia, and many European countries, would require courts to hire only certified professional interpreters for foreign nationals.

Many believe it is time for Korea to adopt such a system, therefore, scholars and interpreters have teamed up with the Supreme Court to study interpretation systems in other countries.

According to Professor Kwak Joong-chol at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies graduate school of interpretation and translation, "Certified court interpreters are necessary to upgrade the domestic court system in the wake of a sudden jump in the number of cases involving foreign nationals." Joong-chol went on to say, "Under the current court system of not requiring a certificate, nobody guarantees the quality of their interpretation and thus human rights of foreigners cannot be protected."

Thus, courts and judges have been made aware of the interpreter need and will likely set up a system to accommodate fair and just trials with competent interpretation methods.

29 September 2008