President Park Geun-hye attended the third congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice, held in Seoul on September 29. The conference is a high-level meeting that draws more than 500 judiciary leaders, including heads of constitutional courts and chief justices of supreme courts from over 90 countries. This year's event was effectively an inaugural meeting, as it was the first meeting held since September 2011, when the conference officially became a permanent forum with the adoption of its statute.

The goals of this year's conference, "Constitutional Justice and Social Integration," are to share the experiences of resolving social conflict through constitutional means and to seek ways to enhance the function of the judicial system and to make it conducive to promoting social cohesion.



"Over the past few decades, constitutional trials have been a key institution to defend universal human values and they have contributed so much to realizing the rule of law in many countries and in promoting human rights," the president said. "Even now, constitutional trials play an important role in sensibly overcoming political confrontation and racial, cultural and social conflicts, and help to achieve social unity."

"Korea, though it is still divided, has promoted democracy and human rights and achieved economic growth in a balanced manner," the president said. "In the process, the Korean constitutional court has played an important role as it has made efforts to protect the constitutional values and principles of freedom and democracy, and to preserve social unity.

"Polarization is worsening social conflict around the world. Some people who unlawfully seek other's power and interests, rather than using laws and principles, are causing national division and conflict," said Park. "It is time that everyone in the country, including the marginalized, need to be protected within the boundary of the law and that abiding by the law is ever more necessary.

"Korea will promote the rule of law and human rights through international cooperation and contribute to the enhancement of judiciary systems across the world," she said.

By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
jun2@korea.kr