The Judicial Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights in South Korea
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Wonil Cha
Abstract
Socio-economic rights are regarded as an indispensable foundation of substantial freedom. At the same time, the embodiment of socio-economic rights in the Constitution is generally associated with concerns about their quality as a fundamental right and their judicial enforcement. The South Korean Constitution upholds the principle of the welfare state in the preamble, the fundamental social rights of Articles 31 to 36 and Article 119 (2), providing the legal basis for the regulation and coordination of economic affairs by the State. The implementation of these constitutional norms and ideals was left largely to the political process beyond judicial review for many decades. As a result of the rapid economic development, the democratization process and the introduction of constitutional review in the last 30 years, the normative discussion of basic social rights, both on societal and legal level, has taken on a new life. This article examines the South Korean Constitutional Court’s approach to judicial review in the socio-economic field with due regard to this changing reality.
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© 2019 Law and Development Review
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- The Constitutionalization of Development
- Articles
- Constitutionalism and Development: A Mismatch or a Dream-Team?
- Economic Constitutions in the Developing World
- Constitutional Judges as Agents for Development
- Political Governance, Law, and Economic Development
- Economic Constitutionalism in the EU and Germany – The German Constitutional Court, the European Court of Justice and the European Central Bank between Law and Politics
- Democratization of Foreign Policy: India’s Experience with Paradiplomacy
- The Judicial Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights in South Korea
- The Right to Information and Transformative Development Outcomes
- Note
- South Korean Economy at the Crossroads: Structure Issues under External Pressure – An Essay from a Law and Development Perspective
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- The Constitutionalization of Development
- Articles
- Constitutionalism and Development: A Mismatch or a Dream-Team?
- Economic Constitutions in the Developing World
- Constitutional Judges as Agents for Development
- Political Governance, Law, and Economic Development
- Economic Constitutionalism in the EU and Germany – The German Constitutional Court, the European Court of Justice and the European Central Bank between Law and Politics
- Democratization of Foreign Policy: India’s Experience with Paradiplomacy
- The Judicial Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights in South Korea
- The Right to Information and Transformative Development Outcomes
- Note
- South Korean Economy at the Crossroads: Structure Issues under External Pressure – An Essay from a Law and Development Perspective
