This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Law Day, which was established to help solidify the rule of law in our great nation. Today, as we celebrate the 50th Law Day, we welcome many dignitaries from home and abroad including Her Excellency, President of the Republic of Korea. On this occasion, we have occasion to reflect on how the rule of law has positively impacted our society over the past 50 years.

The value and dignity of the individual is the essential starting point in creating a free democratic society; our Constitution establishes this as a baseline. In a truly free society, each individual should be afforded an opportunity to live a prosperous life and pursue happiness through his or her efforts and creative spirit. To this end, a stable and peaceful society must be established based on consistency and predictability where one’s creativity is unleashed and efforts are paid off and justly compensated. Fully guaranteeing dignity and value of each individual by creating such a society is the mission of law and the task of the rule of law in modern society.

To further the public trust in the legal system and the rule of law, citizens must experience and believe that the laws are improving their lives, and making our society a better one. To have the law "come alive" would only be possible when citizens have trust in and commitment to abiding by a law which they perceive as fair and just. The most important task in furthering the rule of law is to convince the people that the laws are present to protect them and find solutions to pressing societal problems. Laws are not intended to restrict or limit their individual freedoms and pursuit of happiness. With such public awareness of law, only when people trust the judiciary in its application and execution of law, can we establish a society where the true value of law is materialized.

Anyone who cherishes and embraces a free democratic society has the responsibility to safeguard our freedom by respecting the law and rooting out infringements against our laws. Laws must be interpreted and applied in consistent, firm, and objective manner. To that end, the judiciary must ensure all that people are equal before the law and that no one is "above the law"; only then will the public develop a strong belief in the rule of law and the objectivity of our legal institutions. Furthermore, for laws to be truly respected, the entire process of enacting, interpreting and applying the law must be transparent, fact-based, sincere and also humane. Then the people will see that the judiciary respects them as individuals and cares about creating a fair and equal society. Individuals will more readily accept a decision by a court and have greater faith in the judicial process when they experience first-hand that the court is considerate and fair towards them, and that our judges work tirelessly to understand all perspectives during the process, rather than merely explaining the legal code in a dry and cold-hearted manner. 

It goes without saying that legal professionals particularly have a greater role to play in dealing with such tasks than people in any other profession. Public confidence in the legal profession is directly proportional to people’s respect for the law. The entire legal profession -- judges, prosecutors, lawyers, scholars -- must come together to increase the public confidence in the law, recognizing that one group alone cannot affect the necessary change in public behavior and belief. All legal professionals, regardless of their background, should demonstrate leadership. We must chart out together the long-term vision and direction our society, including the legal profession, should pursue; we must also make necessary sacrifices and efforts to serve the public well. It is through such collective efforts that we can create a better society governed by the rule of law and one where constitutional freedoms and values are guaranteed for all.

In commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Law Day, let us renew    ourselves to further solidify public trust in the law and our legal institutions. With such strong public trust, let us pool our efforts to build a society where dignity and value of every citizen are fully respected.

Thank you.

April 4, 2013

The Chief Justice YANG Sung-tae