Bae Hyung Won (center), deputy director of the National Court Administration under the Supreme Court of Korea on July 17 speaks at the opening ceremony for a court interpretation center at the Seoul Eastern District Court in the city’s Songpa-gu District. (Supreme Court of Korea)
By Israa Mohamed
The National Court Administration (NCA) of the Supreme Court of Korea on July 17 held the opening ceremony for a court interpretation center at the Seoul Eastern District Court in the capital’s Songpa-gu District.
Responsible for general administrative affairs of the court, the NCA said it launched the center to provide uniform translation and interpretation services to courts nationwide via teleconferencing.
Since July 1, the center has provided quality services online across the country through qualified interpreters certified by the court being on standby at all times.
Interpretation is available in four languages with the highest demand — English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Russian — plus sign language for those hearing impaired. The NCA is also considering adding languages with rising demand like Arabic and Uzbek as well as those with lower demand.
Since 2022, the NCA had planned the center to help foreign nationals unable to receive proper trials because of the difficulty in finding interpreters in smaller cities outside of the Seoul metropolitan area.
It said, “We expect the opening of the court interpretation center to help courts properly manage trial dates, efficiently use the court interpretation budget and reduce the workload for staff who designate interpreters.”
ess8@korea.kr
