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6 - The Constitutional Court as a Facilitator of Fundamental Rights Claiming in South Korea, 1988–2018

from Part II - Institutional Mechanisms for Rights Claiming

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2021

By
Hannes B. Mosler
Edited by
Celeste L. Arrington  and
Patricia Goedde
Celeste L. Arrington
Affiliation:
George Washington University, Washington DC
Patricia Goedde
Affiliation:
Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul
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Summary

This chapter investigates how South Korean citizens’ petitioning to redress grievances against the state and constitutional adjudication have developed since the end of the 1980s. While de jure there existed a constitutional review system since the founding of the Republic in 1948, it was only after transition to formal democracy that infringement on fundamental rights could be de facto appealed in the Constitutional Court, which was established in 1988. Through an analysis of caseload statistics from the Constitutional Court, the chapter explores how citizens have been making use of the constitutional appeal system for claiming their rights. The study also qualitatively examines shifts in the logic and outcomes of constitutional adjudication of fundamental rights claims concerning major social issues such as gender equality, sexual autonomy, and freedom of conscience.

Keywords

KoreaconstitutionConstitutional Courtconstitutional adjudicationdemocratic consolidationEast Asiagender equalitysexual autonomyfreedom of consciencerights claim
Type
Chapter
Information
Rights Claiming in South Korea , pp. 126 - 150
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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