On the 12th, when the judicial appeal system took effect, the first case filed with the Constitutional Court was identified as "cancellation of deportation order for a Syrian."
The Constitutional Court said that as of 9 a.m. that day, a total of four judicial appeals had been filed.
The first case was filed online with the Constitutional Court at 12:10 a.m. A, a Syrian national and foreigner who is the claimant, filed a constitutional complaint seeking to cancel a judgment in connection with the case to cancel a deportation order and a protection order.
The family of a repatriated fisherman abducted to the North also filed a constitutional complaint seeking to cancel a judgment at 12:16 a.m. that day. The late Kim Dal-su, a repatriated fisherman abducted to the North, was abducted twice while fishing aboard a boat in the East Sea in 1968 and 1972. After returning to Korea, Kim was suspected of being a spy and in 1972 served one year and six months in prison.
Kim's family requested a retrial and was acquitted in Jan. 2023. In April of the same year, they filed a claim for criminal compensation with the Chuncheon District Court Gangneung Branch. It is a system in which the state compensates a defendant whose acquittal has been finalized for damages due to detention or trial.
Although the court must decide on compensation within six months from the filing date, it did not decide on criminal compensation until July 2024, one year and three months later.
The family filed a government compensation lawsuit demanding payment of delay interest for about nine months beyond the statutory deadline. The courts of first and second instance ruled against them, saying "the six-month decision deadline is only a directory provision," and the decision was finalized on the 20th of last month when the family gave up their appeal.
The Citizens' Group for Victims Who Were Fishermen Abducted to the North along the East Coast and the legal team representing the government compensation lawsuit over delayed criminal compensation filed a judicial appeal, saying they sought a determination on whether the court's loss judgment, which did not recognize state responsibility despite a trial delay that significantly exceeded the statutory deadline, violates the Constitution.
The "three judicial laws," passed by the National Assembly under the lead of the Democratic Party of Korea, were promulgated that day. The crime of judicial distortion and the judicial appeal take effect from that day, and the increase in the number of Supreme Court justices takes effect from Mar. 2028.
With the introduction of the judicial appeal, if a finalized judgment is ▲ contrary to a Constitutional Court decision, ▲ rendered without going through lawful procedures prescribed by the Constitution or laws, or ▲ clearly violates the Constitution or laws and infringes on fundamental rights, an appeal may be filed within 30 days from the date the judgment is finalized.
After deliberation, if it determines that a court judgment is unconstitutional, the Constitutional Court may cancel that judgment. The court must then rule again in accordance with the Constitutional Court's decision.