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Courts of South Korea

A three-level ordinary court system, with a separate Constitutional Court that can strike down laws and hear complaints from individuals.

Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Ordinary courts

Supreme Court
High CourtsPlus the Patent Court, which hears appeals in intellectual-property cases
District CourtsIncluding the Family Court, Administrative Court and Bankruptcy Court

Stands apart from the chain of appeals

Constitutional CourtReviews laws referred by courts, hears constitutional complaints, impeachments and the dissolution of parties
Appeals travel up the arrows. Boxes with a heavier border are the top court of each track.

Worth knowing

  • The Administrative Court is a first-instance court inside the ordinary courts. Its cases go up to the High Court and then the Supreme Court.
  • A person whose basic rights have been violated can bring a constitutional complaint directly to the Constitutional Court.

Compare South Korea with another country →
Read the South Korea profile in the Legal Families Atlas →

Sources

Other systems

African Court on Human and Peoples' RightsArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBangladeshBelgiumBrazilCanadaChileChinaColombiaCzechiaDenmarkEgyptEngland and WalesEuropean Court of Human RightsEuropean UnionFinlandFranceGermanyGhanaGreeceHong KongIndiaIndonesiaInter-American Court of Human RightsInternational Court of JusticeInternational Criminal CourtIranIrelandIsraelItalyJapanKenyaMalaysiaMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandNigeriaNorwayPakistanPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSaudi ArabiaScotlandSingaporeSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanThailandTurkeyUnited Arab EmiratesUnited StatesVietnam

TheLawToKnow Tools’s court-structure diagrams are simplified on purpose and are not legal advice. Report a mistake.