[Exclusive] Constitutional Court of Korea Expands Amid Constitutional Complaints Against Final Court Judgments... Staffing to Increase by 40 Next Year, Budget Up 14%

[Financial News] Constitutional Court of Korea will increase its staffing by 40 next year and expand its budget by 14% compared to this year. This move is intended to handle the increase in cases since the constitutional complaint against final court judgments system was implemented last March, and half of the additional staff, or 20 people, will be Rapporteur Judges. Additionally, 1.1 billion won in rent has been newly allocated to provide separate office space for the increased personnel.
According to the project-specific explanatory document for Constitutional Court of Korea's 2027 budget proposal obtained by Financial News on the 4th, the Court's organizational staffing quota will increase by 40 people, from 364 this year to 404 next year. The Court explained that while the personnel figures in the project-specific explanatory document show an increase of 41 people, from 375 to 416, this figure represents the sum of the organizational staffing quota and a separate staffing quota.
The large-scale increase in personnel is intended to respond to the constitutional complaint against final court judgments system implemented on March 12. The 40 additional personnel consist of 20 Rapporteur Judges and 20 general staff members, each making up half.
The 20 newly added Rapporteur Judges will be responsible for the preliminary review of constitutional complaint cases. The total quota for Rapporteur Judges for next year is 112. The preliminary review is a procedure to examine the formal legal requirements of a constitutional complaint case, such as the filing period and the standing of the petitioner. In accordance with the Constitutional Court Act, this must be completed within 30 days; if the period is exceeded, the case is referred to the full court regardless of its legality.
Twenty general staff members will be assigned to administrative tasks to support the increasing number of cases. They will be responsible for tasks ranging from receiving cases and handling civil complaints to assigning and processing cases, managing court records, and developing and operating the constitutional complaint against final court judgments system.
A Constitutional Court of Korea official explained, "We have increased staffing to cope with the increase in cases resulting from the implementation of the constitutional complaint against final court judgments system," adding, "We have increased the personnel essential for adjudication support to prevent delays in proceedings caused by the increase in cases and to ensure thorough deliberation."
Constitutional Court of Korea's budget proposal for next year is 70.835 billion won, an increase of 8.726 billion won (14%) from this year's 62.109 billion won. Total personnel costs will also increase by approximately 5.5 billion won (15.5%), rising from 35.353 billion won to 40.835 billion won.
The expansion of personnel is also a major factor in the increase of Constitutional Court of Korea's budget for next year. The 36 additional personnel, added from the ad hoc organizational structure for responding to constitutional complaints against final court judgments, consist of 20 Rapporteur Judges and 16 secretariat staff members.
Personnel costs increased as factors such as a regular increase of 5 positions for next year and a 4.42% improvement in civil servant compensation were reflected. The 5 regular additions consist of 4 positions in the Secretariat and 1 position for a separate Rapporteur Judge.
Additional workspace for the increased workforce will also be secured. Constitutional Court of Korea's budget for headquarters operational support will increase by approximately 35%, from 4.033 billion won this year to 5.44 billion won next year.
The largest portion of the increase is the 1.1 billion won rent for the new office building. Constitutional Court of Korea leased a separate office space in a private building near its headquarters to secure workspace for additional personnel added to respond to constitutional complaints against final court judgments.
In addition, 260 million won in salary increases for public service workers were reflected, including two additional workers for ad hoc recruitment to respond to constitutional complaints against final court judgments and two additional workers for regular recruitment next year.
 
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol, Lee Hae-ram Reporter