Constitutional Court of Korea

37°34′41″N 126°59′05″E / 37.5780°N 126.9847°E / 37.5780; 126.9847

Constitutional Court of Korea
대한민국 헌법재판소
Emblem of the Constitutional Court of Korea
Constitutional Court of Korea in Jongno, Seoul
Established	1988; 36 years ago (1988)
Location	Jongno, Seoul
Composition method	Appointed by President upon nomination of equal portions from National Assembly, Supreme Court Chief Justice and the President
Authorised by	Constitution of South Korea Chapter VI
Judge term length	Six years, renewable (mandatory retirement at the age of 70)
Number of positions	9 (by constitution)
Website	ccourt.go.kr
President
Currently	Moon Hyungbae (acting)
Since	18 October 2024 (2024-10-18)

Constitutional Court of Korea
Logo of the Constitutional Court of Korea
Korean name
Hangul	헌법재판소
Hanja	憲法裁判所
Revised Romanization	Heonbeop Jaepanso
McCune–Reischauer	Hŏnpŏp Chaep'anso

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The Constitutional Court of Korea (Korean: 헌법재판소; Hanja: 憲法裁判所; RR: Heonbeop Jaepanso) is one of the highest courts – along with the Supreme Court – in South Korea's judiciary that exercises constitutional review, seated in Jongno, Seoul. 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:^[1]

1. The constitutionality of a law upon the request of the courts;
2. Impeachment;
3. Dissolution of a political party;
4. Competence disputes between State agencies, between State agencies and local governments, and between local governments; and
5. 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 (헌법재판소법), 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^[2]), 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 trial" 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.

The Constitutional Court of Korea is the seat of the permanent secretariat for research and development of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions.