High courts of South Korea

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The high courts of South Korea (Korean: 고등법원) are intermediate appellate courts in South Korea's judicial system. They consist of six courts established in Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, Seoul, and Suwon that have jurisdiction to hear appeals from lower courts within their region.

Jurisdiction

South Korea's high courts derive their jurisdiction from Article 28 of the Court Organization Act.^[1] They have jurisdiction to hear appeals from the rulings or judgments of three-judge panels from the district courts.^[2] They also have jurisdiction to hear appeals from the administrative court and three-judge panels of the family courts.^[3] Each of the high courts has jurisdiction over a specific region of South Korea.^[4]^[5]

Composition

Each high court is headed by a chief justice and organized into civil, criminal, and special divisions with each division being led by a chief judge. The judges in each high court are organized into three-judge panels that exercise the court's authority.^[4] Judges are appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court with the approval of the Council of Supreme Court Justices for ten year terms. Presently, candidates for appointment to the judiciary must have at least seven years of legal experience and beginning on January 1, 2026, they must have at least ten years of experience.^[6] During their term of appointment, high court judges only serve on high courts and cannot be transferred to district courts.^[5]

List of high courts

South Korea's six high courts and the lower courts they exercise appellate jurisdiction over are listed below:^[7]

Busan High Court [ko]

Daegu High Court [ko]

Daegu District Court [ko]
Daegu Family Court [ko]

Daejeon High Court [ko]

Gwangju High Court [ko]

Seoul High Court [ko]

Suwon High Court [ko]

References

^ "Court Organization Act". Statute of the Republic of Korea. Korea Legislation Research Institute. Archived from the original on February 1, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
^ Lee, Seo Yoon. "Postcard from Seoul, Korea: Q&A with Judge Seo Yoon Lee". Judicature International. Duke University School of Law. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
^ "Courthouse". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies. Archived from the original on August 1, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "High Court". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies. Archived from the original on August 1, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
^ ^a ^b Cho, Subin (2021). "A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE KOREAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM AND COURT HIERARCHY" (PDF). Asian Law Center Briefing Papers. 13. University of Melbourne: 11, 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2024.
^ "Members". Supreme Court of Korea. Archived from the original on October 9, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
^ "Overview". Supreme Court of Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 2, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2025.

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Jurisdiction

Composition

List of high courts

See also

References