Judgment

A final and binding adjudication that a court renders on the merits of a case after hearing the parties' arguments.

Judgment

Overview

Judgment (判決, judgment) is a form of adjudication in which a court, after hearing the parties' arguments, rules on the merits of a litigation case; under procedural law, it is the most representative and final conclusion among the various forms of adjudication. In civil litigation it decides whether to grant or dismiss a claim; in criminal litigation it determines guilt or innocence, etc.; once it becomes final, it has res judicata binding the parties and the court. Judgment functions as the final means of dispute resolution and rights protection and as a core mechanism realizing the rule of law.

Main Content

Types of Adjudication and the Position of Judgment

Court adjudications are broadly divided into judgments, decisions, and orders. A judgment is an adjudication that rules on substantive issues after hearing; decisions and orders mainly deal with incidental matters in litigation proceedings or matters requiring prompt disposition. In principle, a judgment must be pronounced after oral argument, and its effect is completed when the judge signs and seals the written judgment. Its characteristics are that its procedure is stricter and its binding force stronger than decisions and orders.

Types of Judgment

  • Performance judgment: A judgment ordering a debtor to make a certain payment or performance, including payment of money, delivery of goods, or performance of an act.
  • Declaratory judgment: A judgment confirming whether a right or legal relationship exists.
  • Constitutive judgment: A judgment that newly creates, alters, or extinguishes a legal relationship; examples include divorce, dissolution, and cancellation judgments.

Criminal judgments are divided into convictions (imprisonment, suspended sentence, deferred sentence, fine, minor fine, etc.), acquittals, dismissals, dismissals of prosecution, and judgments of lack of jurisdiction. Once an acquittal becomes final, the effect of ne bis in idem (double jeopardy prohibition) arises, so the same case cannot be punished again.

Formation and Effect of Judgment

A judgment is formed by the judge's act of pronouncement, and becomes final through expiration of the appeal period or waiver/withdrawal of the right to appeal. A final judgment has the following effects:

  • Res judicata: The effect that the same case cannot be litigated or contested again.
  • Formal finality: A state in which it can no longer be contested through ordinary appeal.
  • Enforceability: The effect enabling compulsory execution.
  • Constitutive effect: The effect of creating a new legal relationship.

Structure of the Written Judgment

A written judgment generally consists, in order, of the indication of the parties, the disposition, the purport of the claim and the purport of appeal, the reasons (findings of fact and legal determination), the progress of the litigation, and the signature and seal of the participating judge. The disposition concisely presents the conclusion of the judgment, and the reasons state the factual circumstances and the basis for applying legal principles. The written judgment is significant in that it guarantees the legitimacy of the adjudication and serves as the basis for review by a higher court.

Appeal and Finality

A party dissatisfied with a judgment may appeal within a certain period. A first-instance judgment may be appealed by appeal (항소), an appellate judgment by final appeal (상고), and decisions and orders by interlocutory appeal (항고). In civil litigation, the appeal period is in principle two weeks from the date the written judgment is served; if this period passes, the judgment becomes final. If a final judgment has a serious defect, exceptional relief procedures such as retrial or extraordinary appeal are provided.

Publicity and Inspection of Judgments

The Constitution and the Court Organization Act stipulate the public disclosure of trials as a principle. Anyone may attend the pronouncement of a judgment and the hearing, and final written judgments may be inspected and copied. However, non-disclosure is exceptionally permitted to protect privacy or national security, and recently anonymization and de-identification for personal information protection have been expanding.

Recent Trends

In 2024–2025, digital transformation in the judicial sector is accelerating. As the electronic litigation system becomes more advanced, the proportion of service and inspection of written judgments handled online has increased, and the introduction of AI-assisted judgment and case-law search tools is being discussed. New legal determinations are continuing in copyright, defamation, and personal information cases related to generative AI, and there is also an increasing number of cases in which decisions by the Supreme Court en banc cause social repercussions. In addition, there is an ongoing trend to promote both the public's right to know and privacy protection through opening judgment data and expanding de-identification. As interest in citizen participation trials and the jury system is reexamined, discussions on institutional improvement to enhance the transparency and trust of judgments are active.

Related Topics

  • [[Adjudication]]
  • [[Court]]
  • [[Res judicata]]
  • [[Appeal]]
  • [[Judiciary of South Korea]]
  • [[Case law]]