More than 100 judicial review cases have been filed in the week since South Korea implemented a new system allowing constitutional appeals against court rulings.
According to the Constitutional Court on the 19th, 106 judicial review petitions were filed from December 12, the first day of implementation, through the previous day. Twenty-two petitions were filed on the 18th alone.
The Constitutional Court projects 10,000 to 15,000 judicial review petitions annually.
The judicial review system allows "court rulings," previously excluded from constitutional complaint proceedings, to be subject to Constitutional Court review. If the court accepts a petition and overturns a ruling, the judgment loses effect retroactively, and the case returns to the relevant court for retrial. Petitions must be filed within 30 days of a final ruling.
Upon receiving cases, a designated panel first determines whether legal requirements are met. Petitions failing procedural requirements are dismissed without merit review. Under the Constitutional Court Act, cases not dismissed within 30 days of filing are automatically referred to full deliberation.
Constitutional complaint proceedings require attorney representation. Petitioners lacking financial means to retain counsel may apply for court-appointed representation. Such applications may be rejected if the petition is clearly improper, groundless, or constitutes abuse of rights.
Judicial review petitions may be filed even after rulings become final at the first or second instance. However, abandoning available appeals to file a petition may result in dismissal for violating the subsidiarity principle.
The Constitutional Court explained that filing a petition does not automatically suspend a ruling's effect. Criminal sentences, including imprisonment, continue to be executed. While provisional measures through injunctions are possible if granted, the court assessed such outcomes as unlikely.
If the Constitutional Court overturns a ruling but the lower court issues a judgment inconsistent with the Constitutional Court's decision, another judicial review petition is possible. Concerns have emerged that cases repeatedly cycling between courts and the Constitutional Court could create legal instability.
