Constitutional Court cases

The Constitutional Court cases (헌법재판소 결정/憲法裁判所決定) are decided by one thousand a year on average since the Constitution Court was established on September 1, 1988 in place of the Constitutional Committee (헌법위원회) under the new Constitution which was amended in October 1987.

The Constitutional Court statistics shows that, for 25 years since the establishment, over 24 thousand cases were filed with the Court and 23520 cases were settled as of August 31, 2013.

In August 2013 in commemoration of the 25th Anniversary, the Constitutional Court surveyed opinions from the public on/off-line to select "Top Ten" unforgettable cases on the constitutional issue. The result is listed below.

Key words
Constitutional Court, adjudication of constitutionality of law, impeachment, dissolution of a political party, competence dispute, constitutional complaint

Types of Court adjudications
Under the Constitutional Court Act, the Constitutional Court has dealt with:
 * "Constitutionality of Law" (위헌법률심판) Hun-Ka cases which are referred to the constitutionality of statutes cases brought by ordinary courts, i.e., any court other than the Constitutional Court;
 * "Impeachment" (탄핵심판) Hun-Na cases - so far only one case explained below. See Impeachment.
 * "Dissoulution of a Political Party" (정당해산심판) Hun-Da cases
 * "Competence Dispute" (권한쟁의심판) Hun-Ra cases; and
 * "Constitutional Complaint" (헌법소원심판) Hun-Ma or Hun-Ba cases.

Types of Court decisions
Unqualified cases shall be dismissed (각하/却下) by the Court. Once the cases are deemed qualified, those shall be deliberated by the Constitutional Court full bench to decide:
 * "Unconstitutional" (위헌/違憲): Used in Constitutionality of Laws cases.
 * "Unconformable to Constitution" (헌법불합치/憲法不合致): This conclusion means the Court acknowledges a law's unconstitutionality but merely requests the National Assembly to revise it by a certain period while having the law remain effective until that time.
 * "Unconstitutional, in certain context" (한정위헌/限定違憲): In cases challenging the constitutionality of a law, the Court prohibits a particular way of interpretation of a law as unconstitutional, while having other interpretations remain constitutional.
 * "Constitutional, in certain context" (한정합헌/限定合憲): This means that a law is constitutional if it is interpreted according to the designated way. This is the converse of "Unconstitutional, in certain context". Both are regarded as decisions of "partially unconstitutional".
 * "Annulled" (인용/認容): This conclusion is used when the Court accepts a Constitutional Complaint which does not include a constitutionality of law issue.
 * "Rejected" (기각/棄却): When the Court finds no reason to accept it, the case shall be rejected.

Top Ten unforgettable cases

 * 1) Confiscation of Property Awarded for Pro-Japanese Collaboration during the Japanese Occupation (친일재산 몰수 규정 '합헌')
 * 2) Presidential Emergency Measures under the Yushin Constitution (유신헌법 시절 대통령긴급조치 '위헌')
 * 3) Impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun (국회의 노무현 대통령 탄핵 '기각')
 * 4) Competence Dispute between Assemblyperson and Assembly Speaker on the Private School Act (국회 법률안 날치기 통과 '위헌')
 * 5) Identity Verification System on the Internet (본인 확인 인터넷 실명제 '위헌')
 * 6) Age Restriction Case in the Open-Competitive Civil Service Entrance Examination for Rank 5 Position (공무원시험 나이 제한 '헌법불합치')
 * 7) Challenge against the Act of Omission Involving Article 3 of the Korea-Japan Agreement on the Settlement of Problem concerning Property and Claims and the Economic Cooperation (정부의 위안부 피해 외교적 방치 '위헌')
 * 8) House Head System (호주제 '헌법불합치')
 * 9) Ban on the Improper Communication on the Internet (표현의 자유를 제한한 통신금지조항 '위헌')
 * 10) Special Act on the May Democratization Movement, etc. (5·18 주모자 처벌 법률 '합헌')