Yeonggam

Yeonggam was historically an honorific title for second-level and third-level civil servants;[2] Vice-Ministers, or Assistant Secretaries[3] of Goryeo and Joseon.

Over time the word became an honorific or nickname for a judge, county governor,[4] head of a township[5] or old man.

[clarification needed] Along with the change in the meaning of these positions, Korean patriarchal perspectives were added to the usages of yeonggam, which became a common designation; 1.

After the Joseon dynasty, the use of yeonggam continued in Japan and Colonial Korea as an honorific for the position of country governor, judge, prosecutor, and district attorney.

[9] After 1962, the Supreme Court of South Korea[9] sought to eliminate the habit of using the term Yeonggam for judges since it was considered to be un-democratic.