Review of the Constitutional Court’s Important Cases in 2023 (2)

This paper analyzed the meaning and content of major decisions made by the Constitutional Court in 2023 except for normative control. The Constitutional Court determined that the inspection of some items conducted by Gyeonggi-do Province violated Namyangju's local autonomy because the inspection was not specified or its relevance to the original inspection was not recognized. The Constitutional Court rejected the request for a competent dispute trial sought by the Minister of Justice and the prosecutor for the revision of the Public Prosecution Service Act and the Criminal Procedure Act by the National Assembly. The court opinions of the five judges denied the eligibility of the Minister of Justice as a claimant and the possibility of infringement of the prosecutor's authority. The Constitutional Court decided on the Ministry of Justice's announcement that prohibited the test of confirmed patients and restricted the test of self-quarantined and high-risk people in the 10th bar exam, which was scheduled to take effect in early January 2021, when COVID-19 was prevalent. The Constitutional Court judged that the uniformly prohibition of the respondent from taking the test due to vague concerns violated the claimants' freedom to choose their jobs. The Constitutional Court determined that the 'right to be registered' as soon as birth was a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. In relation to the Incheon Metropolitan City lawn, the Constitutional Court judged that the Incheon Metropolitan City Ordinance, which restricts the use of the lawn for the purpose of assembly and demonstration, violates the Constitution by violating the claimants' freedom of assembly and association. With a 7:2 opinion, the Constitutional Court ruled that the 'Act on the Development of South and North Korean Relations' clause, which prohibits the spraying of leaflets to North Korea and punishes violations, violates the claimants' freedom of political expression.