Seoul High Court
| 서울고등법원 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 157 Seochojungang-ro Seocho-dong Seocho-gu Seoul 06594, Korea |
| Agency executive |
|
| Website | http://slgodung.scourt.go.kr/ |
The Seoul High Court (Korean: 서울고등법원) is a high court in South Korea.[1] It is composed of the Chief Justice of the High Court and a number of judges specified by the Supreme Court Rules, and its adjudication power is subordinate to the Consensus Division, which consists of three judges. Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, and Gangwon Province are under its jurisdiction.[2][3]
History
On August 1, 1908, during the Korean Empire, the Kyŏngsŏng Appeals Court was established for the first time.[4]
In 1996, the Seoul High Court sentenced former president Chun Doo-hwan to life in prison for insurrection and mutiny. Another former president, Roh Tae-woo, was given a 17-year sentence for his involvement.[5]
In 2018, the court sentenced former president Park Geun-hye to 25 years in prison for charges including bribery, extortion, and abuse of power.[6]
In 2020, the Supreme Court upheld Seoul High Court's ruling sentencing former President Lee Myung-bak to 17 years in prison for embezzlement and bribes. The High Court also fined him 13 billion won.[7]
In 2021, the Seoul High Court overturned the Seoul Eastern District Court's conviction of Shinhan Financial Group chairman Cho Yong-byoung for corrupt hiring practices.[8]
In February 2023, the Seoul High Court overturned a lower court decision allowing the NHIS to not expand equal benefits to same-sex couples.[9] In April, the court upheld the Fair Trade Commission's KRW 1 trillion fine and six out of ten of its corrective orders on Qualcomm after the company appealed in 2017.[10] In November, the court ruled that the Government of Japan would have to compensate former comfort women, which Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated was a violation of "State immunity under international law."[11]
In February 2025, Seoul High Court upheld a ruling by the Seoul Central District Court acquitting Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong of all 19 charges in relation to the 2015 merger of Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T, including stock manipulation, breach of trust, and accounting fraud.[12][13]
In February 2026, the court sentenced former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae to six months in prison for interference in trials. This marked the first instance of a Supreme Court Chief Justice in South Korea being found guilty in a criminal trial.[14]
See also
References
- ^ 기자, 이세원 임수정. "고법원장이 직접 재판한다…사법사상 첫 사례". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ^ 기자, 임주영. "서울고검장, 고법원장 퇴임식서 이례적 `송별사'". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ^ "Constitutional Court of Korea > Justices > Current Justices". english.ccourt.go.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2025-07-26. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ^ "연혁 - 서울고등법원 소개 - 서울고등법원 홈". slgodung.scourt.go.kr. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ^ "Punishment of 1979 coup leader Chun Doo Hwan foreshadows Yoon's potential fate". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2024-12-11. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "South Korean court upholds 20-year prison term for former President Park Geun-hye". CNBC. 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "Former President Lee Myung-bak goes back to prison". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "Shinhan chairman wins appeal on hiring practices case". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ Min-kyung, Jung (2024-07-18). "Top court recognizes legal rights of same-sex couple for 1st time". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "Qualcomm Faces Record Fine Over 1 Trillion Won... Final Defeat in Cancellation Lawsuit". www.asiae.co.kr. 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
- ^ Kamikawa, Yoko (23 November 2023). "Regarding the Judgment of the Seoul High Court of the Republic of Korea in the Lawsuit Filed by Former Comfort Women and Others". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Samsung chairman's legal battle set to end this week after decade-long struggle - The Korea Times". www.koreatimes.co.kr. 2025-07-13. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ Sung-mi, Ahn (2025-02-03). "Samsung chief cleared of all charges in 2015 merger case". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ "Ex-Supreme Court chief justice appeals suspended prison sentence in power abuse case - The Korea Times". www.koreatimes.co.kr. 2026-02-02. Retrieved 2026-02-04.