Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice said on the 24th that "restraining the tyranny of the strong and wiping away the tears of the weak (抑强扶弱), and correcting wrongful history to reveal what is right (破邪顯正), is the very spirit of the law." The latter phrase means to set right what is wrong and reveal the right path.
The Minister said at the 63rd Law Day ceremony held that day, "Letting the precious constitutional values protected by the sovereign people blossom into human rights and the rule of law—that is the solemn mandate given to the Ministry of Justice," adding, "As justice and human rights seep into everyone's life like air, we will build a Korea where people respect and embrace one another within the fence of the rule of law."
The Ministry of Justice set this year's ceremony theme as "The constitutional order safeguarded by the people, achieving human rights and the rule of law." The aim is to commemorate how the constitutional order was defended against the Dec. 3 martial law.
Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, Constitutional Court President Kim Sang-hwan, National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Seo Young-kyo, and Korean Bar Association President Kim Jung-uk attended the event. The Minister presented plaques of appreciation to emeritus professor Han In-sup of Seoul National University School of Law, who on the day of martial law flagged its illegality and raised the possibility of the crime of insurrection, among others.
Hong Won-gi, who stood with citizens to block soldiers disembarking from a helicopter that landed at the National Assembly on the day of martial law, and attorney Kim Jung-hwan, who filed a constitutional complaint against the martial law proclamation, also received plaques of appreciation.
At the ceremony, 14 members of the legal community were also honored for contributing to the establishment of the rule of law, the defense of human rights, and the realization of social justice.
Attorney Oh Yoon-deok received the Order of Civil Merit, Mugunghwa Medal, in recognition of establishing the Sarang Saem Foundation after retiring from roughly 20 years on the bench and training young public-interest lawyers.
Prosecutor Lee Jong-hyeok of the Busan High Prosecutors' Office, who contributed to establishing legal order by sternly punishing official corruption, major financial crimes, and violent crimes, received the Order of Service Merit, Hwangjo Medal, while Lee Tae-hoon, adviser to the Incheon Crime Victim Support Center, and Park So-hyun, head of the Legal Aid Division 2 at the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations, each received the Order of Civil Merit, Dongbaek Medal.