The exact interpretation of the phrase "the judge participated in the decision at a previous trial", provided in Article 17, Subparagraph 8, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, is that the same judge participated in the same case at a lower trial level.

　　　 The Code of Criminal Procedure is the procedural law on criminal sanctions of the State. Discovering the substantive truth is the condition for the correct application of criminal sanctions. In order to guarantee the fairness of the trial, the withdrawal clauses were provided for the case where the judge had been suspected of being unfair due to some special circumstance. Article 17, Subparagraph 8, of the Code provides "the judge, who has participated in the decision at a previous trial, shall not handle the case by voluntary recusal." Since the same judge participated in the same case at a lower trial level, the criticism of bias and the loss of a second opportunity to appeal are thus justified. It thus includes all the previous trials. Judges who participated in the case which was later declared a retrial by the final court and was sent back to the lower court, and are now sitting on the same case again in the final court, had not been considered for withdrawal in the past. However, in order to fully implement the system of withdrawal of judges, this case shall be decided by another judge if fact permits.