Kolloquium Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften - Marie Seong-Hak Kim

As South Korea evolves into mature democracy, how to evaluate its not-so-distant illiberal past has emerged as a thorny topic, giving rise to deeply-divided, ideologically-tinged debate.  One current dominant view is that the courts failed to uphold democratic ideals and protect civil and political rights of the citizens by rigidly observing the authoritarian Yusin Constitution (1972–1980).  A number of judicial decisions from this period have of late been overturned in retrials in the wake of transitional justice.  Around the world, law has often been used as an instrument for suppressing political opposition, but the usual theme of judicial complicity in the repressive regime, while valid in many circumstances, may obscure the actual historical process if not accompanied by a deeper understanding of constitutionalism and judicial decision-making.  This presentation discusses the Korean judicial process in the 1970s and its aftermath in light of the classic judicial dilemma of unjust laws.