• Judiciary
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General Information

The judiciary is independent of the administrative and legislative branches. It is a branch of the government that has judicial powers. Article 101 of the Constitution provides that “the judicial powers shall be vested in the courts comprising of judges,” thereby conferring on the courts judicial power to promote the rule of law. Article 27 of the Constitution provides, “All citizens shall have the right to be tried in conformity with the Act by judges qualified under the Constitution and the Act. All citizens shall have the right to a speedy trial,” making it clear that it is a fundamental right of the people to have a fair trial by the court consisting of qualified judges.

Independence of the Judiciary

In order to help the courts to fully perform their duty as a judiciary, Article 103 of the Constitution provides, “Judges shall rule independently according to their conscience and in conformity with the Constitution and laws” declaring the independence of the judiciary. The independence of the judiciary is one of the pillars of the separation of powers, which is the fundamental principle of democracy and an important component of a nation ruled by rule of law. Judicial independence means judges make decision in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and his/her conscience free from any external improper source of influence. The Judiciary is able to function as the last resort that protects the fundamental rights of the people only when the independence of the judiciary is guaranteed.

Principle of public trials

To ensure a fair and just trial and to protect the human rights of the parties to litigation, Article 109 of the Constitution provides that trials and decisions of the court shall be opened to the public. In criminal cases, the right to a public trial is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution. However, if there is a concern that the trial deliberations could disrupt national security or public safety, or be harmful to public morals the courts may order not to open the trial to the public.

The three -tier judicial system

The Korean judicial system is based on the three-tier trial system. In principle, general civil or criminal cases are heard by in the order of (1) a single-judge of district court (or branch court) of first instance; (2) a panel of three judges at district court (appellate division) of second instance; and (3) the Supreme Court of third instance. Cases required to be tried by a panel of three judges are heard by (1) a panel of three judges of district court; (2) the High court; (3) the Supreme Court, in order. For military cases, they are tried by, (1) a military court, (2) the High court; and (3) the Supreme Court.
In the past, administrative litigations were operated by the two-tiered system of the High Court and the Supreme Court as the revocation of administrative dispositions must be reviewed by administrative tribunals before filing it to the courts with jurisdiction. However, since March 1, 1998 when the administrative courts were established, the three-tiered system for administrative litigations has been implemented. Unless the law provides otherwise, lawsuits for revocation of administrative dispositions could be resolved by the administrative litigation without administrative appeal procedure. The Patent Court, established on March 1, 1998, has the exclusive jurisdiction over lawsuits against decisions or adjudications by the patent tribunal. Appeals against the patent court’s decision should be brought directly to the Supreme Court, which means that the two-tiered system for patent cases is established.