Kim Bok-hyung, Chief Judge of Seoul High Court, Nominated as New Constitutional Court Justice

Kim Bok-hyung, Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court, nominated and designated as a Constitutional Court Justice. Photo by the Supreme Court

Kim Bok-hyung, Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court (56, 24th class), has been nominated as the new Constitutional Court Justice to succeed Lee Eun-ae (58, 19th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), who will retire on the 20th of next month.

On the 20th, the Supreme Court announced, "Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae has today, pursuant to Article 111, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution, nominated Chief Judge Kim Bok-hyung of the Seoul High Court as the successor to Constitutional Court Justice Lee Eun-ae, who is scheduled to retire upon the expiration of her term."

Earlier, on the 14th, the Constitutional Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee (Chairman Lee Kwang-hyung, President of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) conducted a review of candidates recommended from both inside and outside the judiciary regarding their suitability as Constitutional Court Justices. Following this, they recommended three candidates to Chief Justice Cho: nominee Kim Bok-hyung, Kim Jung-won, Secretary General of the Constitutional Court (59, 19th class), and Yoon Seung-eun, Judge of the Seoul High Court (57, 23rd class).

The Supreme Court stated, "The Chief Justice, listening to the public's call for diversification in the composition of the Constitutional Court Justices and respecting the recommendations of the Constitutional Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee, has determined that Kim Bok-hyung, Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court, possesses a firm belief in constitutional values and the protection of citizens' fundamental rights, a commitment to protecting socially vulnerable and minority groups, insight and inclusiveness to harmoniously resolve various social interests and conflicts, as well as professional legal knowledge of the Constitution, rational and fair judgment abilities, a communicative and service-oriented attitude toward the public, and morality aligned with the public's expectations. Therefore, he has been nominated as a Constitutional Court Justice."

All nine Constitutional Court Justices are appointed by the President. However, the Constitution stipulates that among the Justices, three are to be elected by the National Assembly and three are to be nominated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, with the President appointing them. The successor to Justice Lee Eun-ae is the nomination quota of Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.

Born in Geoje, Gyeongnam, Chief Judge Kim graduated from Busan Girls' High School and Seoul National University’s College of Law. He passed the 34th Judicial Examination and completed the 24th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, beginning his judicial career in 1995 at the Seoul District Court.

He subsequently served as a judge at the Northern Branch of the Seoul District Court, Ulsan District Court, Suwon District Court, Seoul Central District Court, and Seoul High Court, as well as a judicial research officer at the Supreme Court. He held positions as Chief Judge of the Daegu District Court, Judge of the Seoul High Court, Chief Judge of the Chuncheon Branch of the Seoul High Court, Senior Chief Judge of the Chuncheon District Court, Chief Judge of the Suwon High Court, and then moved to serve as Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court.

In 2008, he was appointed as the first female exclusive research officer in the Supreme Court Justice’s office, serving for two years.

While working at the Seoul High Court in 2014, he sentenced Lee Jae-hyun, Chairman of CJ Group, who was indicted on charges of embezzlement, breach of trust, and tax evasion, to three years in prison, which was one year less than the first trial.

The Supreme Court introduced Chief Judge Kim as "a female judge with extensive legal knowledge and outstanding judicial practical skills, who has served nearly 30 years as a judge without ever leaving judicial duties."

It also stated, "He possesses professional legal knowledge of the Constitution, rational and fair judgment abilities, a communicative and service-oriented attitude toward the public, and morality aligned with the public's expectations."

If Chief Judge Kim is appointed as a Constitutional Court Justice, the number of female Constitutional Court Justices will remain at three, as it is currently.

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