Changes in the Korean civil trial system during and after COVID-19 and future tasks to cope with the global crisis — Focused on the Electronization process of civil procedure —

The Covid-19 incident, which rapidly spread in the Korea, not only had a serious impact on society as a whole, but also had a profound impact on the civil trial system. First of all, the expansion of videoconference can be cited as the most representative change. Remote video trials, which have been in effect since 1995, were rarely used and were almost forgotten. Afterwards, a witness interrogation system via video was also introduced in 2016, but the results of its use were very low. Moreover, there was no legal basis for holding a video trial during the preparatory hearing or hearings. However, as people's gatherings became difficult and social distancing became active due to COVID-19, the Korean Code of Civil Procedure was revised in 2021 to provide a legal basis for both preparatory hearing or hearings to be held through video trials. What is interesting is that the use of video trials is increasing even in 2023, when the risk of COVID-19 has subsided. For those of us who were only accustomed to offline trials, COVID-19 revealed the advantages of video trials. However, along with the activation of video trials, it is also very important to maintain the principles of civil litigation required in the existing offline trial system. In particular, in addition to strengthening the principle of open trial, a device that protects individual privacy must also be developed. In addition, it is believed that efforts should be made to improve trial convenience through the expansion of video trials in the field of international civil litigation.