Yulchon Leads Constitutional Court's First "Jaepanso-won No. 1" Case to Substantive Review... "Clear Legal Principles Anticipated"

The case represented by Yulchon LLC has become the first-ever "Constitutional Complaint No. 1" to advance to the merits review stage before the full bench of the Constitutional Court of Korea, marking a historic first in the nation's legal history. This case draws significant attention both within and outside the legal community, as it is the first instance in which a Supreme Court final ruling is subject to a substantive constitutional review.

Constitutional Court of Korea, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

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This case was handled by Yulchon's Fair Trade Group and the Constitutional Complaint Task Force (TF) on behalf of GC Green Cross. The team sought a constitutional judgment after the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal without review, despite conflicting rulings between the Supreme Court's criminal division and the Seoul High Court's administrative division on the issue of collusion.

Yulchon focused on the argument that the Supreme Court's dismissal of the case without substantive review of key legal issues in the administrative trial infringed upon fundamental rights, including the constitutional right to trial. The decision by the full bench to proceed to a merits hearing is the first instance of a constitutional complaint advancing to a substantive review, and it is expected to set a precedent by clarifying the requirements and standards for recognizing such complaints in the future.

Attorney Seo Hyungseok stated, "The significance of this decision is considerable, given that the Constitutional Court has been extremely selective in choosing cases for merits review, dismissing 265 previous constitutional complaints at the preliminary stage," and added, "We will do our utmost in the upcoming merits review to establish a clear legal doctrine regarding the constitutional guarantee of the right to trial."

Since the introduction of the system, Yulchon has formed a Constitutional Complaint Task Force led by attorneys including Yoon Yongseop, Seo Hyungseok, and Kwon Hyukjun, with experts in constitutional, administrative, and criminal litigation participating. Starting with this case, Yulchon plans to proactively identify constitutional issues in cases involving actions by national institutions-such as fair trade, taxation, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A)-and provide strategic dispute response services.

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