Justice of the Constitutional Court of Korea

Justice of the
Constitutional Court of Korea
헌법재판소 재판관 (Korean)
Emblem of the Constitutional Court
Flag of the Constitutional Court of Korea
Current Justice of the Constitutional Court of Korea as of 1 January 2025
Constitutional Court of Korea
StyleYour Honor
StatusJustice
Member ofCouncil of Constitutional Court Justices
SeatJongno, Seoul
AppointerPresident of South Korea
Term lengthSix years, renewable
Constituting instrumentConstitution of South Korea
Formation1 September 1988; 36 years ago (1988-09-01)
WebsiteOfficial english website

The Constitutional Court of Korea is one of two highest courts in court system of South Korea. It is composed of nine Constitutional Court Justices (Korean: 헌법재판소 재판관; Hanja: 憲法裁判所 裁判官; RR: Heonbeopjaepanso Jaepangwan), and one of them is the 'President of the Court'. The exact number of Constitutional Court Justices is determined by article 111(2) of the Constitution of South Korea.[1]

By article 111(2) of the Constitution, all of the Constitutional Court Justices are appointed by the President of South Korea. However, following article 111(3) of the Constitution, three of the Constitutional Court Justices should be appointed from candidates selected by the National Assembly, and another three of Constitutional Court Justices should be appointed from candidates nominated by the Supreme Court Chief Justice. Thus, only three of nine Constitutional Court Justices are directly appointed by the President of South Korea. They serve for renewable term of six-year under article 112(1) of the Constitution, yet there are only two Justices who tried to renew their term because it could eventually harm judicial independence by amplifying influence of the President of South Korea on the Constitutional Court.

According to article 5(1) of 'Constitutional Court Act',[2] Constitutional Court Justices should be at least 40 years old, and should also have more than 15 years of career in legal practice or academia with license of attorney at law.

Current Justices

Nine inaugural justices of the Court in 1988

This table lists current Justices in Constitutional Court of Korea.[3]

Name Tenure / Current Length Appointed by Selected·Nominated by Education
Moon Hyungbae April 19, 2019 / 5 years, 8 months Moon Jae-in (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Lee Mison April 19, 2019 / 5 years, 8 months Moon Jae-in (Directly by President of South Korea) Pusan National University
Kim Hyungdu March 31, 2023 / 1 year, 9 months Yoon Suk Yeol Chief Justice (Kim Myeong-soo) Seoul National University
Jeong Jeong-mi April 17, 2023 / 1 year, 8 months Yoon Suk Yeol Chief Justice (Kim Myeong-soo) Seoul National University
Jeong Hyeong-sik December 18, 2023 / 1 year Yoon Suk Yeol (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Kim Bok-hyeong September 21, 2024 / 3 months Yoon Suk Yeol Chief Justice (Cho Hee-dae) Seoul National University
Cho Han Chang [ko] December 31, 2024 / 0 months Choi Sang-mok National Assembly (People Power Party) Seoul National University
Jeong Gye-seon [ko] December 31, 2024 / 0 months Choi Sang-mok National Assembly (Democratic Party) Seoul National University
Vacant Vacant since October 2024 National Assembly

Former Justices

This table lists former Justices in the Constitutional Court of Korea.[4] Since South Korea adopted American styled 3-year law school system for legal education in 2008, 'education' column of below table means where former Justices received undergraduate degrees.[5]

Name Tenure Position Appointed by Selected·Nominated by Education
Cho Kyu-kwang Sep. 1988 − Sep. 1994 1st President Roh Tae-woo (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Lee Seong-yeol Sep. 1988 − Aug. 1991 Justice Chief Justice Lee Il-kyu Chosun University
Byun Jeong-soo Sep. 1988 − Sep. 1994 Justice National Assembly Peace Democratic Korea University (dropped out)
Kim Chin-woo Sep. 1988 − Sep. 1994 Justice[6] National Assembly Reunification Democratic Seoul National University
Sep. 1994 − Jan. 1997 Kim Young-sam (Directly by President of South Korea)
Han Byung-chae Sep. 1988 − Sep. 1994 Justice Roh Tae-woo National Assembly Democratic Justice Seoul National University
Lee Shi-yoon Sep. 1988 − Dec. 1993 Justice Chief Justice Lee Il-kyu Seoul National University
Choe Kwang-ryool Sep. 1988 − Sep. 1994 Justice (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Kim Yang-kyun Sep. 1988 − Sep. 1994 Justice (Directly by President of South Korea) Chonnam National University
Kim Moon-hee Sep. 1988 − Sep. 1994 Justice[7] Chief Justice Lee Il-kyu Seoul National University
Sep. 1994 − Sep. 2000 Kim Young-sam (By consensus of National Assembly)[8]
Hwang Do-yun Aug. 1991 − Aug. 1997 Justice Roh Tae-woo Chief Justice Kim Deok-ju Seoul National University
Lee Jae-hwa Dec. 1993 − Dec. 1999 Justice Kim Young-sam Chief Justice Yun Kwan Seoul National University
Kim Yong-joon Sep. 1994 − Sep. 2000 2nd President (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Cho Seung-hyung Sep. 1994 − Sep. 1999 Justice National Assembly Democratic Seoul National University
Chung Kyung-sik Sep. 1994 − Sep. 2000 Justice (Directly by President of South Korea) Korea University
Koh Joong-suk Sep. 1994 − Sep. 2000 Justice Chief Justice Yun Kwan Seoul National University
Shin Chang-on Sep. 1994 − Sep. 2000 Justice National Assembly Democratic Liberal Seoul National University
Lee Young-mo Jan. 1997 − Mar. 2001 Justice (Directly by President of South Korea) Pusan National University
Han Dae-hyun Aug. 1997 − Aug. 2003 Justice Chief Justice Yun Kwan Seoul National University
Ha Kyung-chul Sep. 1999 − Jan. 2004 Justice Kim Dae-jung National Assembly New Politics Seoul National University
Kim Young-il Dec. 1999 − Mar. 2005 Justice Chief Justice Choi Jong-young Seoul National University
Yun Young-chul Sep. 2000 − Sep. 2006 3rd President (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Kwon Seong Sep. 2000 − Aug. 2006 Justice National Assembly Grand National Seoul National University
Kim Hyo-jong Sep. 2000 − Sep. 2006 Justice (By consensus of National Assembly)[8] Seoul National University
Kim Kyoung-il Sep. 2000 − Sep. 2006 Justice Chief Justice Choi Jong-young Seoul National University
Song In-jun Sep. 2000 − Sep. 2006 Justice (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Choo Sun-hoe Mar. 2001 − Mar. 2007 Justice (Directly by President of South Korea) Korea University
Jeon Hyo-sook Aug. 2003 − Aug. 2006 Justice Roh Moo-hyun Chief Justice Choi Jong-young Ewha Womans University
Lee Sang-kyung Feb. 2004 − Jun. 2005 Justice National Assembly Millennium Democratic Chung-Ang University
Lee Kong-hyun Mar. 2005 − Mar. 2011 Justice Chief Justice Choi Jong-young Seoul National University
Cho Dae-hyen Jul. 2005 − Jul. 2011 Justice National Assembly Uri Seoul National University
Kim Hee-ok Sep. 2006 − Dec. 2010 Justice (Directly by President of South Korea) Dongguk University
Kim Jong-dae Sep. 2006 − Sep. 2012 Justice Chief Justice Lee Yong-hoon Seoul National University
Min Hyeong-ki Sep. 2006 − Sep. 2012 Justice Chief Justice Lee Yong-hoon Seoul National University
Lee Dong-heub Sep. 2006 − Sep. 2012 Justice National Assembly Grand National Seoul National University
Mok Young-joon Sep. 2006 − Sep. 2012 Justice (By consensus of National Assembly)[8] Seoul National University
Lee Kang-kook Jan. 2007 − Jan. 2013 4th President (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Song Doo-hwan Mar. 2007 − Mar. 2013 Justice (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Park Han-chul Feb. 2011 − Apr. 2013 Justice Lee Myung-bak (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Apr. 2013 − Jan. 2017 5th President Park Geun-hye (Directly by President of South Korea)
Lee Jung-mi Mar. 2011 − Mar. 2017 Justice Lee Myung-bak Chief Justice Lee Yong-hoon Korea University
Kim Yi-Su Sep. 2012 − Sep. 2018 Justice National Assembly Democratic United Seoul National University
Lee Jin-sung Sep. 2012 − Nov. 2017 Justice Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae Seoul National University
Nov. 2017 − Sep. 2018 6th President Moon Jae-in (Directly by President of South Korea)
Kim Chang-jong Sep. 2012 − Sep. 2018 Justice Lee Myung-bak Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae Kyungpook National University
Ahn Chang-ho Sep. 2012 − Sep. 2018 Justice National Assembly Saenuri Seoul National University
Kang Il-won Sep. 2012 − Sep. 2018 Justice (By consensus of National Assembly)[8] Seoul National University
Seo Ki-seog Apr. 2013 − Apr. 2019 Justice Park Geun-hye (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Cho Yong-ho Apr. 2013 − Apr. 2019 Justice (Directly by President of South Korea) Konkuk University
Lee Seon-ae Mar. 2017 − Mar. 2023 Justice Hwang Kyo-ahn (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Yoo Nam-seok Nov. 2017 − Nov. 2023 Justice Moon Jae-in (Directly by President of South Korea) Seoul National University
Sep. 2018 − Nov. 2023 7th President (Directly by President of South Korea)
Lee Suk-tae Sep. 2018 − Apr. 2023 Justice Chief Justice Kim Myeong-soo Seoul National University
Lee Eunae Sep. 2018 − Sep. 2024 Justice Chief Justice Kim Myeong-soo Seoul National University
Lee Jongseok Oct. 2018 − Oct. 2024 Justice National Assembly Liberty Korea Seoul National University
Nov. 2023 − Oct. 2024 8th President Yoon Suk Yeol (Directly by President of South Korea)
Lee Youngjin Oct. 2018 − Oct. 2024 Justice Moon Jae-in National Assembly Bareunmirae Sungkyunkwan University
Kim Kiyoung Oct. 2018 − Oct. 2024 Justice National Assembly Democratic Seoul National University

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Constitution of the Republic of Korea". Korea Legislation Research Institute. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  2. ^ "Constitutional Court Act". Korea Legislation Research Institute. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  3. ^ "Current Justices". Constitutional Court of Korea. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  4. ^ "Former Justices". Constitutional Court of Korea. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  5. ^ 이, 성진 (October 20, 2014). "헌법재판관, 10에 7명 서울대 출신" (in Korean). The Law Journal. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  6. ^ Justice Kim Chin-woo is one of two Constitutional Justices who successfully renewed his term. Another is Justice Kim Moon-hee. This renewal of term is account of personal friendship between President Kim Young-sam and Justice Kim Chin-woo. See "Lim Jibong. (2014). An Analysis on the Judicial Inclination of Justice Jin-Woo Kim in the First Korean Constitutional Court. 법학논총, 31, 8-9" (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  7. ^ Justice Kim Moon-hee is one of two Constitutional Justices who successfully renewed his term. Another is Justice Kim Chin-woo. This renewal of term is account of personal friendship between President Kim Young-sam and Justice Kim Moon-hee. After these two Constitutional Court Justices renewed their term, no Justice had tried to renew its term since it could harm independence of judiciary, as those special relationship between the President of South Korea and Constitutional Court Justice provoked social doubt on independence of the Court. See "Lim Jibong. (2013). An Analysis on the Judicial Inclination of Justice Moon-Hee Kim in the Second Korean Constitutional Court. 미국헌법연구, 24(1), 297-299" (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  8. ^ a b c d 이, 승윤 (July 26, 2018). "'국회 몫' 헌법재판관 3명, 다당제서 어떻게 선출될까" (in Korean). lawtimes.co.kr. Retrieved 2022-04-21.