법관의 회피 - 소셜 미디어 사용을 중심으로

Amid the explosive growth in the number of people who use social media, including Facebook and Twitter, etc, Judges who use social media are projected to increase. In that context, inappropriate use of social media by Judge could cause litigants to hold unnecessary prejudice against Judge, and if this accumulates, eventually will ruin public trust. Several cases have already been reported in the U.S. and as a result, state courts have submitted advisory opinions on the use of social media to Judges. To explore disqualifications regarding Judges' use of social media, the author has examined relevant laws, judicial precedents and academic theories, then surveyed Judges in Korea while referring to the results of similar surveys and guidelines in each U.S. state. Based on the result of the survey, the author investigated and analyzed judges’ opinions on social media and brought up several perspectives about the root causes of refusal and the flip side of the coin, the limit of social media use by Judge. Finally, the author reviewed and compared these opinions to suggest a guideline relating to Judges’ reasonable use of social media and causes for disqualification which do not fit into the adduced guideline.