Basic Features of the Constitutional Court of Korea

The Constitutional Court of Korea was established in 1988, as part of South Korea’s 1987 democratic reforms. The Court was largely modeled on the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. Some basic features:

- Number of Justices: Nine

- Appointment: Three are appointed by the President, three are appointed by the National Assembly, and three are appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

- Term: Each justice serves for a six-year term, which is renewable. There is a mandatory retirement age of sixty-five, except for the President of the Constitutional Court, who can serve until he or she is seventy.

- Jurisdiction: The Court has jurisdiction over five areas: 1) review of constitutionality of statutes, 2) impeachments, 3) dissolution of political parties, 4) jurisdictional disputes among governmental bodies, and 5) constitutional petitions.

In this blog, I will be writing about Korean Constitutional Law and the Constitutional Court, with frequent comparisons to constitutional laws of the U.S. and other countries. 2004 was a big year for the Court, and I will explain why in the next several posts.