Korean Court Interpreters Shortage Raises Access Concerns in California Courts
Korean Court Interpreters remain in critically short supply across California courts, raising concerns that Korean Americans with limited English proficiency may face disadvantages in legal proceedings.
Despite consistently high demand for Korean-language interpretation, the lack of qualified interpreters has left many Korean Americans struggling to fully access court services, according to a recent report released by California’s judiciary.
The report found that only 54 certified Korean court interpreters were actively working in California courts as of 2025. That accounts for roughly 3% of the state’s 1,791 certified court interpreters.
California’s Korean American population currently stands at approximately 573,729, meaning there is only one Korean court interpreter for every 10,624 Korean residents. Compared to 2018, when there were 60 certified Korean interpreters, the number has declined by nearly 10%.
Among the top 10 court interpretation languages in California, Korean was one of only three languages that saw a year-over-year decrease in interpreter numbers, alongside Cantonese and Persian.
Growing Demand for Korean Court Interpreters
Attorney Dave Noh said the shortage has become a serious issue across many courts.
“Most courts allow people to request free interpretation services, but Korean interpreters are often unavailable,” Noh said. “In many cases, people must wait long periods or hearings are postponed because interpreters cannot be assigned in time.”
He added that, outside of Spanish-language services, California’s current interpretation system struggles to meet the needs of minority-language communities, including Korean Americans.
The judicial report echoed those concerns, noting that Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese speakers continue to show persistently high levels of limited English proficiency (LEP), underscoring the urgent need for expanded language-specific support.
Korean Interpretation Requests Remain High
In the Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara county court systems, Korean interpretation requests totaled 10,214 last year. Korean ranked third after Spanish and Chinese in overall demand.
Meanwhile, courts in Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and San Bernardino counties recorded 2,808 Korean interpretation requests, ranking fifth behind Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Arabic.
By case type, civil matters — including civil rights disputes and detention-related cases — generated the highest number of Korean interpretation requests statewide at 5,315. Criminal and traffic-related cases followed closely with 5,232 requests. Family law matters, including custody and domestic violence cases, accounted for 2,034 requests.
Attorney Misoo Choi warned that the shortage could directly impact legal outcomes for Korean Americans with limited English skills.
“When Korean interpreters are unavailable, Korean Americans who are not fluent in English are far more vulnerable to disadvantages during legal disputes,” Choi said. “If the court cannot provide an interpreter, individuals often have to hire one privately, which can be very expensive.”
Aging Workforce Adds to Interpreter Shortage
The California Judicial Council identified several key factors behind the interpreter shortage. About 32% of certified court interpreters are age 65 or older, while pass rates for certification exams have steadily declined in recent years.
Michelle Curran, administrative director of the Judicial Council of California, said the judiciary is exploring additional training programs for “near-passers” — applicants who narrowly failed certification exams — while also expanding remote interpretation services to reduce service gaps.
Curran added that California courts recently began offering multilingual court service guides in eight languages, including Korean. The guides include information on interpreter requests, remote hearings, and fee waivers.
