You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 18.208.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪ST47‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a web host's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and they should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 01:01, 24 April 2026.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪AntiCompositeNumber‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: See the help page if you are affected .
- Start of block: 15:08, 30 August 2023
- Expiry of block: 15:08, 30 August 2025
Your current IP address is 18.208.109.86. The blocked range is 18.208.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((Short description|Judicial branch of the Republic of Korea))
((Copy edit|for=Grammar, missing articles, improper capitalization|date=January 2024))
[[File:Judiciary of Korea.svg|500px|thumb|Organizational chart for [[judicial system]] in [[Government of the Republic of Korea]]]]
((Politics of South Korea))

The '''judiciary of South Korea''' (((Korean|대한민국 사법부, 대한민국의 사법기관))) is the [[judicial branch]] (((Korean|labels=no|사법부))) of [[Government of South Korea|South Korean central government]], established by Chapter 5 and 6 of the [[Constitution of South Korea]].<ref name="Con">((cite web | url= https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawView.do?lang=ENG&hseq=1 | title= CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA | publisher= Korea Legislation Research Institute | access-date= 2022-02-26))</ref>

Under Chapter 5, the constitution defines ordinary courts for all cases, except those involving [[constitutional review]], and military courts as [[extraordinary courts]] for [[military justice]] matters. And these ordinary courts and military courts shall have [[Supreme Court of Korea]] as their [[highest court]]. Generally, ordinary courts have three-level hierarchy and constituted by independent judges, fourteen Supreme Court Justices by statute and one [[Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Korea|Chief Justice of Supreme court]] among the justices. Military courts are organized only in first instance of three-level hierarchy at peacetime, and their final appellate always falls on jurisdiction of the Supreme Court even in wartime.

Under the Chapter 6 of the constitution, the [[Constitutional Court of Korea]] is defined as the [[highest court]] on matters of [[constitutional review]], including [[judicial review]], [[impeachment]], and dissolution of unconstitutional political parties, Competence dispute among government agencies and [[Constitutional complaint]]. It is constituted by nine justices by the constitution and one [[President of the Constitutional Court of Korea|President of Constitutional court]] among the justices.

These two chapters describe judiciary of South Korea into two groups by jurisdiction of matters.<ref>((cite web | url= https://www.natlawreview.com/jurisdiction/all-international/south-korea | title=  South Korea, The National Law Review | access-date= 2022-04-15))</ref> One is the [[Constitutional Court of Korea|Constitutional Court]] which is [[Supreme court|highest court]] on adjudication of matters mainly on [[constitutionality]]. Another is ordinary courts on matters except jurisdiction of [[Constitutional Court of Korea|Constitutional Court]]. These ordinary courts have the [[Supreme Court of Korea|Supreme Court]] as their highest court.

[[Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Korea|Chief Justice of Supreme Court]] and [[President of the Constitutional Court of Korea|President of Constitutional court]] are treated as two equivalent heads of judiciary branch in South Korea by article 15 of Constitutional Court Act.<ref name="cca">((cite web | url= https://elaw.klri.re.kr/kor_service/lawView.do?hseq=55845&lang=ENG | title= CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ACT | publisher= Korea Legislation Research Institute | access-date= 2022-02-26))</ref> Though, since relationship between the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court is not thoroughly defined anywhere in Constitution of South Korea and other related statutes,((Citation needed|date=January 2024)) these two highest courts of South Korea have been struggling about jurisdiction against each other.((Citation needed|date=January 2024))

==Institutional traits==
===Diversified supreme courts===
((See also|Supreme court#Civil law jurisdictions))
As influenced from European judiciaries<ref name="ccn">((cite web | url= https://constitutionnet.org/country/republic-korea | title= Constitutional history of Republic of Korea, ConstitutionNet | access-date= 2022-04-15))</ref> such as the [[Judiciary of Austria|Austrian judicial system]] and [[Judiciary of Germany|German judicial system]],<ref>((cite web | url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/840686 | title= West, James M., and Dae-Kyu Yoon. "The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Korea: Transforming the Jurisprudence of the Vortex?" The American Journal of Comparative Law, vol. 40, no. 1, 1992, pp. 76-77 | jstor= 840686 | access-date= 2022-04-05))</ref> contemporary South Korean judiciary divides its role of [[highest court]] into two apex courts.
* [[Supreme Court of Korea]]: as the [[highest court|highest]] [[ordinary court]] of South Korea, the Supreme Court of Korea has comprehensive final appellate jurisdiction over every case except constitutional matters.
* [[Constitutional Court of Korea]]: the [[constitutional court]] has [[original jurisdiction]] over major constitutional matters, including [[judicial review]] on constitutionality of statute, review of all [[impeachments]], decisions on [[Defensive democracy|prohibition and dissolution of political parties]], competence dispute about demarcation of power among central government agencies and local governments, and adjudication of [[Constitutional complaint (Germany)|constitutional complaints]].

===American-style legal education===
((Further|Law schools in South Korea))
Before South Korea adopted the American law school system (((Korean|labels=no|법학전문대학원))) in 2007, South Korea trained its legal professionals mainly by the [[Judicial Research and Training Institute]] (JRTI, ((Korean|labels=no|사법연수원))). Another route was direct recruitment by the [[South Korean Armed Forces]] as 'Judge Advocates' (((Korean|labels=no|군법무관))). The trainees at JRTI were selected by a nation-wide exam on jurisprudence called the 'Judicial exam' (((Korean|labels=no|사법시험))). These trainees were commonly trained and competed against each other in the JRTI for 2 years, as their career option after graduation was restricted according to graduation records of JRTI.((Citation needed|date=January 2024)) However, after the 2007 reform, all legal professionals in South Korea (except [[paralegals]] such as [[Judicial scrivener|judicial scriveners]]) are trained by American-style 3-year [[law school]] system.<ref>((cite web | url= https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002230220 | title= 천경훈. (2017). 변호사시험이 법학전문대학원의 교육에 미치는 영향. 상사법연구, 36(1), 233-238. | doi= 10.21188/CLR.36.1.7 | access-date= 2022-05-10 | language= korean))</ref>

==Ordinary courts==
[[Ordinary courts]] (((Korean|labels=no|일반법원)) or 법원), of South Korea are established by Chapter 5 of the [[Constitution of South Korea|Constitution]]. All ordinary courts are under the jurisdiction of the national judiciary. These ordinary courts are divided into the Supreme Court and [[lower court|other (lower) courts]] under Article 101(2) of the Constitution.<ref name="Con"/> The Constitution itself does not exactly guarantee three level instance system; article 101(2) states, according to the Constitutional Court,<ref>((cite web | url= https://law.go.kr/detcInfoP.do?mode=1&detcSeq=151849 | title= Constitutional Court decision, 90Hun-Ba25, June 26, 1992 | publisher= Ministry of Government Legislation, Korean Law Information Center | access-date= 2022-05-20 |language= korean))</ref> that final appellate jurisdiction of ordinary cases should always be with the [[Supreme Court of Korea|Supreme Court]]. Thus, enacting some of cases outside of the [[Constitutional Court of Korea|Constitutional Court]]'s jurisdiction as available of only one chance of appeal or no chance of appeal is constitutionally valid in South Korea unless such case is finally ruled in the Supreme Court.<ref>((cite web | url= https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002021470 | title= 박선영. (2015). 헌법 제27조 제1항의 '재판을 받을 권리'와 심급제에 관한 小考 -EU 국가의 상고심 기능과 역할을 중심으로-. 유럽헌법연구, 18, 225-229. | access-date= 2022-02-23 |language= korean))</ref>((Clarify|date=January 2024))

Statutory ground for hierarchy of ordinary courts, including three-tiered instance system for typical cases, is defined by the Court Organization Act of South Korea.<ref name="COAct">((cite web | url= https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawView.do?hseq=52135&lang=ENG | title= COURT ORGANIZATION ACT | publisher= Korea Legislation Research Institute | access-date= 2022-02-23))</ref> Under article 3(1), 28 and 28-4 of the Court Organization Act, hierarchy of ordinary courts in South Korea has three levels; District Courts (plus family court, bankruptcy court, and administrative court, which are specialized courts on matters of family, bankruptcy and administration laws), High Courts (plus patent court which is specialized appellate court on matters of intellectual property, for reviewing ruling or decision made by the 'Intellectual Property Trial And Appeal Board<ref>((cite web | url= https://www.kipo.go.kr/en/HtmlApp?c=30300&catmenu=ek03_07_01 | title= KIPO english website | publisher= Korean Intellectual Property Office | access-date= 2022-02-26))</ref>'<ref>((cite web | url= https://patent.scourt.go.kr/patent_e/intro/intro_03/index.html | title= Jurisdiction of Patent court of Korea | publisher= Patent Court of Korea | access-date= 2022-02-26))</ref>) and [[Supreme Court of Korea|Supreme Court]]. The [[lower court|other (lower) courts at specified levels]] of article 101(2) of the Constitution are divided into 6 courts, making a total of 7: Supreme Court, High Court, Patent Court, District Court, Family Court, Administrative Court, and Bankruptcy Court. Branch courts and Municipal courts are regarded as part of District Court and Family Court under article 3(2) of the Act.<ref name="COAct"/>

===Supreme Court of Korea===
[[File:South Korea Supreme Court.jpg|300px|thumb|South Korean Supreme Court building in [[Seocho District|Seocho]], [[Seoul]]]]
((main|Supreme Court of Korea))
The Supreme Court (((Korean|labels=no|대법원))), seated in Seocho-gu, [[Seoul]], consists of fourteen Supreme Court Justices, including one Chief Justice. [[Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Korea|Chief Justice of Supreme Court]] is appointed by [[President of South Korea]] with the consent of the [[National Assembly (South Korea)|National Assembly]], and has authority over administration of all ordinary courts. Other Justices are also appointed by President of South Korea with consent of National Assembly, though candidates for new Justice is recommended by Chief Justice. The Justices and Chief Justice must be at least 45 years old, and must have at least 20 years of experience practicing law with a license of attorney at law. They serve for six-year terms; the Chief Justice cannot be reappointed, but the terms of the other Justices are renewable under article 105(2) of constitution. However, none of Justices tried to renew their term after [[Sixth Republic of South Korea|Sixth Republic]] since it could harm independence of judiciary by increasing influence of executive President. Justices cannot be older than 70.

====Judges in Research division====
Justices in Supreme Court are assisted by seconded Judges from sub-Supreme courts, and they are called 'Judges in Research division' (((Korean|labels=no|재판연구관)))' or 'Research Judges'. This secondment is decided by Chief Justice of Supreme Court. Under article 44 of Court Organization Act, the Chief Justice has power to transfer every single Judge from one of ordinary courts to any other ordinary court in South Korea.  Function of seconded Judges in Supreme Court is similar to [[Law clerk]]s in ordinary courts. They serve about 2 years as judicial assistant for Justices, yet not all seconded Judges are not individually attached to one of Justice, as some of seconded Judges serve as research group or panel to assist decisions of whole Supreme Court.

====National court administration====
[[Administration of courts|Administration affairs]] (including fiscal, personnel and human resource affairs) of all ordinary courts in South Korea is governed by an institution called 'The National Court Administration (NCA, ((Korean|labels=no|법원행정처)))', which is established in Supreme Court under article 19 of Court Organization Act.<ref>((cite web | url= https://eng.scourt.go.kr/eng/supreme/about/organizational.jsp | title= Organizational Chart of Supreme Court of Korea | publisher= SUPREME COURT OF KOREA | access-date= 2022-02-28))</ref> The head of NCA is appointed by a Chief Justice, and is appointed among Justices. Though this centralized power on Chief Justice can eventually harm independence of individual Judges and even Justices, NCA is also serves for judicial independence from other branches of government.

===High Courts and District Courts===
Below the Supreme Court come appellate courts which are called 'High Courts (((Korean|labels=no|고등법원)))', stationed in six of the country's major cities. High Courts typically consist of a panel of three judges. Below these are District Courts (((Korean|labels=no|지방법원))) and its Branch Courts (((Korean|labels=no|지방법원 지원))), which exist in most of the large cities of South Korea. Below these are Municipal Courts (((Korean|labels=no|시·군법원))), positioned all over the country and limited to [[small claims]] and petty offenses. Municipal courts usually do not have jurisdiction over criminal cases. Specialized courts (((Korean|labels=no|전문법원))) also exist for family, administrative, bankruptcy and patent cases.

====Judges====
Judges (((Korean|labels=no|판사))) except Supreme Court Justices and Chief Justice, serving in ordinary courts are appointed by the Chief Justice with the consent of the Council of Supreme Court Justices. Judges serve for ten-year renewable terms, up to age of 65. After reform of ordinary courts in early 2010's, at least 10 years of experience practicing law with license of attorney at law is required for Judge.<ref>However, since this reform was too sudden for whole ordinary courts in South Korea, required experience for Judge before year 2029 is 3 to 7 years according to addenda of amended Court Organization Act in year 2011 and 2021. See ((cite web | url= https://eng.scourt.go.kr/eng/judiciary/organization/members.jsp | title= Judges qualifications | publisher= Supreme Court of Korea | access-date= 2019-01-01)) updated in 2019 and amended addenda of Court Organization Act in 2021-12-21</ref> Goal of reform was changing structure of ordinary courts as courts in common law system, such as United States. This reform of courts in early 2010's includes abolishing advancement and promotion opportunities for Judges to become head of each High Court and District Court. Now in year 2022, heads of each High Court and District Court (which are called as 'Chief Judge' of each court) are mainly elected among and by Judges in each court, and appointed by Chief Justice in Supreme Court. Before this reform, all Judges were appointed just after finishing two-year training program in [[Judicial Research and Training Institute|Judicial Research and Training Institute(JRTI)]], which selects its trainees who passed difficult test on matters of jurisprudence after LL.B. degree.

Judges in South Korea is protected from external political pressure under article 106(1) of constitution. No judge can be removed from office unless the judges is imprisoned as criminal punishment. However, It is noteworthy that Judges in South Korea can be refused from renewing its term, and can be transferred to different court against their will.

====Judicial Assistant Officials====
Judicial Assistant Officials (JAO, ((Korean|labels=no|사법보좌관))) is a Judge-equivalent officer who has limited power to rule over several procedural matters under supervision of Judges. Following article 54 of Court Organization Act, JAO is appointed among court officials with 5 to 10 years of experience on procedural matters in court. Unless interested party raise objection on ruling of JAO, its ruling has equivalent power to ruling of Judge. When ruling of JAO is challenged with objection, supervising Judge should make decision whether or not to accept such objection. JAO system is mainly influenced by German judicial system, called ''[[:de:Rechtspfleger|Rechtspfleger]]''.

====Law Clerks====
From year 2011, fresh J.D. graduates from [[Law school]] are selected as [[Law clerk]] (((Korean|labels=no|재판연구원))) to assist Judges in High courts and District courts for 2 to 3 years, under article 53-2 of Court Organization Act. Law clerks in South Korea is recruited by each of six High courts, though some of top-tier graduates are appointed as 'Judicial Researcher' at the Supreme Court, which is basically a law clerk for Supreme Court Justices. It is noteworthy that Law clerks in South Korea are not recruited by individual Judges and Supreme Court Justices.

==Military courts==
Under article 110(1) of the Constitution and 'Military Court Act',<ref>((cite web | url= https://elaw.klri.re.kr/kor_service/lawView.do?hseq=54723&lang=ENG | title= MILITARY COURT ACT | publisher= Korea Legislation Research Institute | access-date= 2022-02-26))</ref> Military Court (((Korean|labels=no|군사법원)), or Courts-martial) is established permanently in both peacetime and wartime as 'Special court (((Korean|labels=no|특별법원)), or [[Extraordinary court]])' in each South Korean armed forces. As Military Courts are not established inside Court Organization Act's boundary, these Courts are regarded as outside of conventional judicial hierarchy made of ordinary courts. The Military Courts rule over criminal cases when the accused is member of armed forces, and they are composed of Military Judges (((Korean|labels=no|군판사))) constituted of Judge advocates (((Korean|labels=no|군법무관))) appointed by generals in South Korean armed forces. South Korean Judge advocates are military officers qualified as attorney at law in South Korea, yet not Judges in ordinary courts. However, final appellate jurisdiction of this military-criminal cases still falls under jurisdiction of Supreme Court of Korea according to article 110(2) of the Constitution. Permanent military court even established in peacetime created various problems as South Korea runs mandatory [[Conscription in South Korea|conscription]] system. After repeated crimes inside armed forces, the permanent military court in peacetime was pointed out as one of main reason for continued suffer of victims, because old military court system in South Korea was inclined to protecting high-ranking military officers even when they were criminals.<ref>((cite news |last=Shin |first=Hyonhee |date= 2021-06-10 | url= https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/skorea-pushes-military-law-change-after-soldiers-death-over-sexual-abuse-2021-06-10 | title= S.Korea pushes for military law change after soldier's death over sexual abuse | publisher= Reuters | access-date= 2022-05-01))</ref> It led to bold reform of military court system in year 2021, abolishing High Military Court (((Korean|labels=no|고등군사법원))) in peacetime and transferring every appellate jurisdiction of military crime cases to Seoul High Court, which is one of High Courts in ordinary court hierarchy.<ref>((cite web | url= https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002805193 | title= 김정수. (2021). 군 사법제도 개혁과 헌법적 의미에 대한 소고. 연세법학, 38, 71-102. | doi= 10.33606/YLA.38.3 | access-date= 2022-05-01 | language= korean))</ref>

==Constitutional court==
[[File:Constitutional Court of Korea (2015).jpg|300px|thumb|South Korean Constitutional Court building in [[Jongno District|Jongno]], [[Seoul]]]]
((main|Constitutional Court of Korea))
The [[Constitutional Court of Korea|Constitutional Court]] (((Korean|labels=no|헌법재판소))), seated in [[Jongno-gu]], Seoul and independent from the Supreme Court, is only and [[Supreme court|highest court]] on matters of adjudication on [[Constitutionality]] including [[Judicial review]], [[Constitutional review]] on competence dispute, [[Constitutional complaint]], plus deciding cases of [[impeachment]] and cases of dissolution of unconstitutional political parties.<ref>((cite web | url= https://english.ccourt.go.kr/site/eng/03/10301010000002020081101.jsp | title= Jurisdiction of Constitutional Court of Korea | publisher=[[Constitutional Court of Korea]] | access-date= 2022-02-26))</ref> Other judicial matters are overseen by the ordinary courts. This system was newly established in the [[Sixth Republic of South Korea|Sixth Republic]], to reinforce protection on fundamental rights and democracy against rise of authoritarian government. The Constitutional Court consists of nine Justices. Of these Justices, three are recommended by the [[Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Korea|Chief Justice of the Supreme court]], three by the [[National Assembly (South Korea)|National Assembly]], and three by the [[President of South Korea]]; however, all must be appointed by the President of South Korea. The [[President of the Constitutional Court of Korea|President of the Constitutional Court]], which is chief of Justices in the Constitutional Court, is appointed among Constitutional Court Justices by the President of South Korea with consent of the National Assembly. The Justices of Constitutional court, including President of Constitutional Court serve for six-year terms, and cannot be older than age 70. Justices except President of Constitutional court can renew its term, though most of Justices never tried to renew his/her term, as Justices in Supreme court refused its reappointment since it could harm independence of judiciary. Detailed organization and procedure of the Constitutional Court is defined under 'Constitutional Court Act<ref name="cca"/>'

===Rapporteur Judges===
Under article 19 of Constitutional Court Act, [[Rapporteur Judges]] (((Korean|labels=no|헌법연구관))) are appointed by [[President of the Constitutional Court of Korea]]. They serve as judicial assistant for Justices in Constitutional Court.<ref>((cite web | url= https://english.ccourt.go.kr/site/eng/01/10102030000002020081101.jsp | title= Organization of Constitutional Court | publisher=[[Constitutional Court of Korea]] | access-date= 2022-02-26))</ref> Rapporteur Judges serve for ten-year renewable terms up to age of 60 and paid as same as Judges in ordinary courts. It is noticeable that Rapporteur Judges serve longer than Justices in Constitutional Court, while Research Judges serve shorter than Justices in Supreme Court. This professional assistant office is designed to ensure continuity of constitutional adjudication in South Korea. Yet some of Rapporteur Judges office is filled by seconded Judges from ordinary courts, and seconded government officials including Prosecutors. These seconded Judges and Prosecutors serve for 1 to 2 years as Rapporteur Judges.

===Department of Court Administration===
Under article 17 of Constitutional Court Act, Department of Court Administration (DCA, ((Korean|labels=no|헌법재판소사무처))) is established in the Constitutional Court. Head of the Department is called as 'Secretary General', and is appointed by the President of Constitutional Court. As NCA of the Supreme Court, the Department of Court Administration deals with every matters on [[court administration]] of the Constitutional Court of Korea, including fiscal, personnel and human resource affairs. Yet while head of NCA is appointed among the Justices in the Supreme Court, the Secretary General is not appointed among the Justices in the Constitutional Court.

==Separation of powers inside Judicial branch==
The current Constitution of South Korea distributes power of judicial review inside judiciary between ordinary courts in Chapter 5 and constitutional court in Chapter 6. Under article 107(2) in Chapter 5, the ordinary courts including the Supreme Court have ultimate jurisdiction over reviewing constitutionality of sub-statutory decrees, regulations or actions made by administrative level. Under article 111(1) in Chapter 6, the Constitutional Court have ultimate jurisdiction over reviewing constitutionality of sub-constitutional statutes made by legislature level, even without request from the ordinary courts through article 68(2) of the Constitutional Court Act. In this structure of power separation, ordinary courts and the constitutional court can practically contend over each other's ruling. Yet the Constitution does not clarify who should arbitrate when the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court struggles against each other.

One of major power struggle issue between two highest courts is constitutional complaint over judgment of ordinary court (((Korean|labels=no|재판소원)), ((lang-de|Urteilsverfassungsbeschwerde))). As in Austria, constitutional complaint on ordinary court's judgment is strictly forbidden according to article 68(1) of Constitutional Court Act. However, the Constitutional Court adjudicates that such article of the Act is lacks constitutionality, unless it is interpreted as constitutional complaint over judgment of ordinary court should be exceptionally allowed when the judgement applicated unconstitutional statute which is already officially nullified before the judgment by judicial review of the Constitutional Court.<ref>((cite web | url= https://www.ccourt.go.kr/site/eng/decisions/casesearch/caseSearch.do | title= 96Hun-Ma172 (Decision date : Dec 24, 1997) | publisher=[[Constitutional Court of Korea]] | access-date= 2022-04-07))</ref>

This kind of judicial review ruling in the Constitutional Court of Korea is called 'conditionally unconstitutional (((Korean|labels=no|한정위헌)))', which is actually a declaration that statute under judicial review is currently constitutional, yet the statute must be interpreted in specific way which is aligned to constitutional order interpreted by the Constitutional Court, thus all ordinary courts including the [[Supreme Court of Korea]] should be bound by such interpretation on statute of the Constitutional Court. The concept of such ruling is attempt of the Constitutional Court of Korea to adopt unrivaled status of [[Federal Constitutional Court|German constitutional court]], where constitutional court can suggest binding interpretation on statute to other highest ordinary courts of Germany, which is called 'constitutional interpretation of statute (((lang-de|verfassungskonforme Auslegung)))'. The German constitutional court can also adjudicate constitutional complaint over judgment of ordinary court, functioning as actual cassation, which led the constitutional court to very summit of constitutional system.<ref>See Lech Garlicki, Constitutional courts versus supreme courts, International Journal of Constitutional Law, Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 44–68. Available at ((cite web | url= https://academic.oup.com/icon/article/5/1/44/722508 | title= International Journal of Constitutional Law | publisher= Oxford Academic | access-date= 2022-04-07))</ref>

The Supreme Court of Korea opposes the Constitutional Court of Korea on both binding power of 'conditionally unconstitutional' ruling and possibility of constitutional complaint over judgment of ordinary court, since it could turn equivalent status of Supreme Court against the Constitutional Court into substantially inferior status as German federal ordinary courts against German federal constitutional court. However, whether the Constitutional Court of Korea can exercise power of suggesting binding interpretation not only on the Constitution but also on statute (by conditional ruling), or can review unconstitutionality of ordinary court judgment (by constitution complaint procedure) still remains unsolved, since the Constitution and even associated statutes never clarify how this struggle should be settled.<ref>See Jibong Lim, Korean Constitutional Court Standing at the Crossroads: Focusing on Real Cases and Variational Types of Decisions, 24 Loy. L.A. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 327 (2002). Available at ((cite web | url= https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ilr/vol24/iss3/2/ | title= Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review  | date= June 2002 | volume= 24 | issue= 3 | page= 327 | publisher= Loyola Law School | access-date= 2022-02-26 | last1= Lim | first1= Jibong ))</ref>

==Issues and criticism==
* According to OECD study in 2013 and 2015, though South Korean ordinary courts achieved top-tier among OECD countries,<ref>((cite web | url= https://www.oecd.org/economy/growth/judicial-performance.htm | title= Judicial performance and its determinants: a cross-country perspective | publisher= OECD | access-date= 2022-02-26))</ref> South Korean's confidence on judicial system is dropping rapidly from 2010's.<ref>((cite web | url= https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/9789264308992-5-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/9789264308992-5-en | title= Trust in government in Korea: A puzzle | publisher= OECD | access-date= 2022-02-26))</ref> It is notable that confidence level on judicial branch is lower than executive branches of South Korean government.
* Judges in lower ordinary courts of South Korea are exposed to authoritative influence of Supreme Court Chief Justice and the President of South Korea.<ref name="ccn"/> For example, all lower ordinary court Judges are usually transferred to different courts all around South Korea per about two years by order of Chief Justice, by article 44 of Court Organization Act.<ref name="COAct"/> This strong influence of Chief Justice on each of lower ordinary court Judges later provoked pressure to reform courts.<ref>((cite web | url= https://www.economist.com/asia/2019/01/26/an-influence-peddling-scandal-ensnares-south-koreas-top-court | title= An influence-peddling scandal ensnares South Korea's top court | publisher= The Economist | access-date= 2022-04-07 | date= 2019-01-24))</ref>

==See also==
* [[Constitution of South Korea]]
* [[Politics of South Korea]]
* [[Government of South Korea]]
* [[National Assembly (South Korea)]]
* [[Supreme Court of Korea]]
* [[Constitutional Court of Korea]]
* [[Law of South Korea]]

==Notes and references==
((reflist|2))

==External links==
* [https://eng.scourt.go.kr/eng/main/Main.work Supreme Court of Korea]
* [http://hcaf.mil.kr/user/indexMain.action?siteId=hcaf_eng Military Court of Korea] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104144316/https://hcaf.mil.kr/user/indexMain.action?siteId=hcaf_eng |date=2023-01-04 ))
* [https://english.ccourt.go.kr/site/eng/main.do Constitutional Court of Korea]

((Korea topics))
((Judiciaries of Asia))
((Authority control))

[[Category:Judiciary of South Korea| ]]
[[Category:Politics of South Korea]]
[[Category:Government of South Korea]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Judiciary of South Korea (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Asia topic (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Template:Citation needed (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite news (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite web (view source) (protected)
Template:Clarify (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Copy edit (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Delink (view source) (protected)
Template:Fix (view source) (protected)
Template:Fix-span (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Fix/category (view source) (protected)
Template:Flatlist (view source) (protected)
Template:Further (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Icon (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Iso2country (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Iso2country/article (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Iso2country/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Judiciaries of Asia (edit)
Template:Korea topics (edit)
Template:Korean (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Lang (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Lang-de (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Navbox with collapsible groups (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Politics of South Korea (edit)
Template:Politics sidebar below (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Politics sidebar title (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Portal-inline (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:See also (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Small (view source) (protected)
Template:Webarchive (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:\ (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Authority control/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:DecodeEncode (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Delink (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:EditAtWikidata (view source) (protected)
Module:Exponential search (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Format link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote list (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Icon (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Icon/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:InfoboxImage (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Labelled list hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Lang (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Lang/ISO 639 synonyms (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Lang/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana languages (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana regions (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana scripts (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana suppressed scripts (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Language/data/iana variants (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox with collapsible groups (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:Portal (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Portal-inline (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Portal/images/s (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:Sidebar (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Sidebar/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Sidebar/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:TableTools (view source) (protected)
Module:Unicode data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Unicode data/scripts (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Webarchive (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Webarchive/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Judiciary of South Korea.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judiciary_of_South_Korea"