Jurist who served as a judge under the Government-General and after liberation became chief of the Seoul High Court and a Supreme Court justice (listed in the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators)
| Life | 1906 ~ 1962 |
| Era | 일제강점기·대한민국 |
| Clan | 초계 변씨 |
Byeon Ok-ju (卞沃柱, 1906-1962) was a jurist active from the colonial period who became a Supreme Court justice of the Republic of Korea. His Japanese name was Tanaka Mamoru (田中護). He came from Jangheung, South Jeolla, and is classed as a Chogye Byeon on the basis of Wikipedia's classification and its Chogye Byeon article.
He studied in Japan, graduating from Hiroshima Higher School and Kyoto Imperial University. After passing the higher civil service examination in the judicial field he became a judge under the Government-General, serving at the Cheongjin District Court and at the Tongyeong branch of the Busan District Court; as of 1943 he is recorded as holding the Japanese court rank of Shō-shichi-i.
After liberation he stayed on as a judge, serving as chief of the Jeonju District Court and then of the Seoul High Court. He became a Supreme Court justice in 1958 at the end of the First Republic but submitted his resignation right after the April 19 Revolution in 1960. He then practiced as a lawyer and died in 1962 of a heart attack while climbing Bukhansan alone. He was on the 2008 list of those to be included in the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators by the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities (judicial section) and in the 705-person list announced in 2009 by the Presidential Committee for the Investigation of Collaborators with Imperial Japan.
He passed the higher civil service examination in the judicial field, was appointed a judge under the Government-General and served in places such as Cheongjin and Tongyeong. His activity in this period was the background to his selection for the list of those to be included in the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators.
After the war he kept working as a judge, serving as chief of the Jeonju District Court and the Seoul High Court, and was appointed a Supreme Court justice in 1958. He submitted his resignation just after the April 19 Revolution in 1960 and then worked as a lawyer. Korean Wikipedia notes that he is remembered as a person of 'rounded character'.
Korean Wikipedia says he was on the 2008 list of those to be included in the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators in the judicial section and in the 705-person list of the 2009 Presidential Committee. This entry states only those facts; for specific conduct please consult the reports and dictionary of the institutions concerned.
His tomb was not confirmed in the sources used here.