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Professor Marie Seong-Hak Kim has written an excellent book, one that should be read by everyone interested in South Korea’s legal system, as well as those interested in the complex and multifarious roles courts play in authoritarian political regimes everywhere. Some will take issue with Professor Kim’s overall assessment, that during South Korea’s authoritarian era the courts generally performed admirably, given the political constraints under which they operated. Her arguments are clear and reasoned, however, and she refers regularly to possible counterarguments as she presents her analysis. This Review will present a general description of the book’s contents, followed by a discussion of some of Professor Kim’s specific arguments.
In Chapter 1, Professor Kim places her study of South Korea within the growing scholarly literature on courts in authoritarian regimes. Korea was ruled by Japan from the early 1900s until 1945, and South Korea was then under U.S. military occupation...
