Student Note Court in a Political Conflict: Note on South Korean Impeachment Case

In March 2004, the Constitutional Court of Korea reviewed the impeachment resolution against President Roh Moo-Hyun brought by the National Assembly of South Korea. The judgment the Court made in serious political confrontation marks the first time in the history of modern constitutionalism that a president impeached by a legislative body has been reinstated by a judicial body. This note attempts to inquiry into the role of the Court in a serious political conflict through the analysis of the context and judgment of this case. After introducing political and legal backgrounds of the incident, as well as the judgment and relevant arguments, this note tries to identify the court’s role from three models drawn from prevailing theories of judicial review. However, the court’s decision is neither convincing nor able to identify its role in democratic politics. This note argues that the seemingly unreasonable decision can only be fully explained when we understand the Court as a political actor pursuing its political goals in the context of a divided society