Former Supreme Court Justice Lee Hong-hoon Passes Away at Age 75

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Former Supreme Court Justice Lee Hong-hoon passed away at 6:50 a.m. on the 11th. He was 75 years old.

Justice Lee was born in Gochang, Jeonbuk, graduated from Gyeonggi High School and Seoul National University Law School, and was appointed as a judge in 1977 as part of the 4th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute. He later served as Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court and President of the Seoul Central District Court, and was a Supreme Court Justice from 2006 to 2011.

Although he was a traditional elite judge, he showed progressive and reformist tendencies. He was known for focusing on the basic rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution and judicial justice, faithfully protecting fundamental rights while issuing many rulings that advocated for socially vulnerable groups.

During his time as a judge, he acquitted defendants in cases related to the production and distribution of pro-North Korean materials under the National Security Act, ruling that the provisions should only be applied when there is a clear danger threatening the existence and safety of the state or the free democratic basic order.

He also issued rulings protecting workers' basic rights, such as ordering payment of wages during the two-month maternity leave stipulated by the Labor Standards Act, even if the employee had submitted an unpaid leave form for childbirth.

As a Supreme Court Justice, he issued various progressive and reformist minority opinions and was known as one of the "Eagle Five" along with former Justices Jeon Su-an, Kim Ji-hyung, Kim Young-ran, and Park Si-hwan.

He changed the Supreme Court precedent that had regarded workers' strikes as automatically constituting obstruction of business and punishable, ruling that strikes should not be indiscriminately considered as obstruction of business.

In particular, his dissenting opinion against the dismissal of the injunction application in the April 22, 2011, plenary session case concerning the suspension of the Four Major Rivers Project is well known.

As the presiding justice in this case, Justice Lee emphasized the need to halt the Four Major Rivers Project, stating, "While handling this case involving environmental issues, special attention must be paid to ensure that the environment, which will be an important living space for future generations, is not polluted or damaged."

After retiring from the Supreme Court, he served as chairman of the Legal Ethics Council, chairman of the Hwawoo Public Interest Foundation, and chairman of the Press Ethics Commission. From 2017, he served as chairman of the Seoul National University Foundation for two years.

He also served as the inaugural chairman of the "Judicial Development Committee with the People," established by Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo to devise judicial reform measures, and remained active as a senior figure in the legal community until recently. The funeral hall is set up at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital. The funeral will be held on the morning of the 13th, and the burial site is the family graveyard in Gochang, Jeonbuk.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.