The Constitutional Court of Korea () is the constitutional court of South Korea, seated in Jongno, Seoul. Exercising constitutional review, it is one of the two highest courts in South Korea's judiciary, along with the Supreme Court. Composed of nine justices, the Constitutional Court has the power to nullify unconstitutional laws, remove impeached officials from office, dissolve antidemocratic political parties, oversee disputes on powers of public authorities, and handle constitutional complaints.
History After Korea regained independence from the Japanese colonial rule in 1945, there were several attempts to establish an independent constitutional court to exercise judicial review. Prior to the First Republic, members of the Constitutional Drafting Committee debated whether Korea's system of constitutional review should follow the American or continental European model. Kwon Seung-ryul proposed adopting the American system where only the Supreme Court interprets the constitution, while Yoo Jin-oh advocated for a European model, which features a constitutional court. The resulting Constitutional Committee () of the First Republic was a compromise between the two proposals. Under the 1948 Constitution, the vice president chaired the committee, with five members appointed by the National Assembly. Following the 1952 constitutional amendment, these included three members from the House of Representatives and two from the House of Councillors. Additionally, the chief justice of the Supreme Court recommended five Supreme Court justices to serve on the committee.
Syngman Rhee's dictatorial rule undermined the committee's normal operation, limiting it to adjudicating only six cases, two of which declared the statutes in question unconstitutional. The 1952 constitutional amendment established a bicameral legislature, but Rhee's regime refused to enact the election law for the House of Councillors. Consequently, the upper houserequired for the Constitutional Committee to functionwas never formed, causing the committee to grind to a halt.
After Rhee's overthrow during the April Revolution, the Second Republic was established through a constitutional amendment that shifted Korea from a presidential to a parliamentary system. As part of the amendment, the Constitutional Court () was created to replace the now-defunct Constitutional Committee. Under the 1960 amendment, the president, House of Councillors and the Supreme Court each designated three Constitutional Court justices. Although legislation to establish the court was passed in April 1961, it never materialized. The following month, Park Chung Hee seized power through a military coup, suspending the constitution and halting the court's formation.
After the nominal dissolution of the military junta, President Park Chung Hee rammed the 1962 constitutional amendment through, which dissolved the Constitutional Court and transferred the power to review cases on constitutionality to the Supreme Court. In 1971, following its constitutional mandate, the Supreme Court ruled 9 to 7 and struck down Article 2 of the National Compensation Act (), which restricted state liability for compensating soldiers injured while serving the country. Enraged by the decision, Park responded the following year by pushing through another constitutional amendment, enacting the Yushin Constitutiona notoriously oppressive document that gave the president sweeping executive and legislative powers. The Yushin Constitution included a provision that explicitly overturned the 1971 Supreme Court ruling on the National Compensation Act. Additionally, the Supreme Court justices involved in the decision were denied reappointment and forced into retirement.
The Yushin Constitution (and the successive constitution of the Fifth Republic) also re-established the Constitutional Committee, but required an ordinary court to submit a formal request for constitutional review before the committee could exercise its judicial power. Since the Supreme Court was wary of retaliation as in 1971, it forbade courts from making such requests, rendering the Constitutional Committee powerless.
The June Struggle in 1987 led to the 1987 constitutional amendment, which democratized Korea and ushered in the Sixth Republic, continuing to this day. The 1987 Constitution established the modern Constitutional Court of Korea and granted it authority to review matters of constitutionality. The court has delivered several landmark decisions in South Korea's contemporary history, including the decriminalization of abortion, the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, and the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol.For major decisions of the Constitutional Court of Korea, see
In December 2024, the Constitutional Court became a political battleground once again following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol for declaring martial law. At the time, the court had three vacancies, prompting a debate in the National Assembly of Korea over whether acting presidents have the authority to fill such vacancies. The opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) argued that acting presidents could fill the positions, emphasizing that the presidential appointment of National Assembly-recommended nominees is largely procedural. In contrast, Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) asserted that acting presidents could appoint justices only in cases of a presidential vacancy, not a suspension of duties.
On December 26, the opposition parties unilaterally approved three Constitutional Court nominees, without PPP participation in the confirmation vote. Acting president Han Duck-soo refused to appoint the nominees, citing the need for a bipartisan consensus. In response, the DPK filed an impeachment motion against Han on the same day. The motion passed on December 27, resulting in Han's suspension from office. On December 31, acting president Choi Sang-mok appointed Chung Kyesun and Cho Hanchang to the Constitutional Court while withholding the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk. Ma was eventually appointed after President Yoon's removal from office.
Power The South Korean constitution vests judicial power in courts composed of judges, which establishes the ordinary-court system, but also separates an independent constitutional court and grants it exclusive jurisdiction over matters of constitutionality. Specifically, Chapter VI Article 111 Clause 1 of the South Korean constitution specifies the following cases to be exclusively reviewed by the Constitutional Court: Constitutionality of a law upon the request of the courts; Impeachment; Dissolution of a political party; Jurisdictional disputes between state agencies, between state agencies and local governments, and between local governments; and Constitutional complaints as prescribed by [the Constitutional Court] Act. Article 111 Clause 2 states that the Constitutional Court shall consist of nine justices qualified to be court judges, all of whom shall be appointed by the president of South Korea. While all nine justices must be appointed by the president, Article 111 Clause 3 states that the National Assembly and the chief justice shall nominate three justices each, leaving the remaining three to be nominated by the president of South Korea. Article 111 Clause 4 states that the candidate for the president of the Constitutional Court must obtain the approval of the National Assembly before appointment by the president.
The constitution broadly delineates the roles of courts, both ordinary courts and the Constitutional Court, and entrusts the National Assembly to legislate the specifics of their functions. After the tenth constitutional amendment in 1987, the National Assembly passed the Constitutional Court Act (), which establishes the organizational structure of the court and the hierarchy of judicial officers and their roles within the court. It also specifies the procedural details for petitioning the court. Unlike other constitutional courts (most notably the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany), a petitioner involved in a lawsuit may file a constitutional complaint directly with the court, without having to exhaust all other legal remedies, if he/she believes a particular statute has infringed upon his or her constitutional rights.
The Constitutional Court often clashes with the Supreme Court. While the two courts are considered co-equal (see Article 15 of the Constitutional Court Act), they frequently disagree over which holds the ultimate authority to interpret the constitution. The Supreme Court, the court of last resort, has criticized the Constitutional Court for attempting to upend the "three-tiered" system (allowing appeals up to twice) and for placing itself above the Supreme Court. In 2022, the tensions between the two courts peaked when the Constitutional Court overturned a Supreme Court decision without declaring the relevant statute unconstitutional. Instead, it ruled that while the statute itself did not violate the constitution, its specific application did. The Supreme Court publicly denounced the ruling, arguing that it unacceptably implied that the ordinary court decisions fall under the Constitutional Court's jurisdiction, effectively subordinating the Supreme Court to the Constitutional Court.
Status The current judicial system of South Korea, particularly the Constitutional Court of Korea, was influenced by the Austrian judicial system. While Austria has three apex courts, whose jurisdictions are defined in different chapters of the Austrian constitution, the South Korean constitution establishes only two apex courts. Ordinary courts, with the Supreme Court of Korea at the top, are established by Article 101 Clause 2 under Chapter 5, "Courts" (). Unlike the ordinary courts, the Constitutional Court of Korea is the only court established by Article 111 Clause 1 of Chapter 6, "Constitutional Court" ().
The drafters of the constitution tried to emphasize that the Constitutional Court does not belong to the ordinary-court system by using different but synonymous words. The term "jaepanso" (; ) was used to describe the Constitutional Court, while "beopwon" (; ) was used to represent the ordinary courts. The equal status of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court is established by Article 15 of the Constitutional Court Act, which states that the president and the associate justices of the Constitutional Court should be treated the same as the chief justice and the associate justices of the Supreme Court, respectively.
Composition Current justices
Name Born Appointed by Recommended by Education First day / Length of service (age ) in Jeonju Chief Justice (Kim Myeong-soo) Seoul National University / (age ) in Busan Chief Justice (Kim Myeong-soo) Seoul National University / (age ) in Yanggu (Directly) Seoul National University / (age ) in Geoje Chief Justice (Cho Hee-dae) Seoul National University / (age ) in Suwon National Assembly (People Power Party) Seoul National University / (age ) in Yangyang National Assembly (Democratic Party) Seoul National University / (age ) in Goseong Han Duck-soo National Assembly (Democratic Party) Seoul National University / (age ) in Daejeon (Directly) Seoul National University / (age ) in Daejeon (Directly) Seoul National University /
Justices