ENGLISH

- An “administrative appeal” is a procedure requested by a citizen, whose rights or interests have been infringed by matters such as an illegal or unjust disposition by an administrative agency or other exercise or non-exercise of public power, to seek relief from an infringement of rights.

- The Constitution of the Republic of Korea provides that administrative appeals may be conducted as a procedure that precedes judicial trial and that, though the appeal procedure is determined by statutes, they shall conform to the principles of judicial proceedings. In this way, the Constitution of the Republic of Korea emphasizes that, in relation to administrative disputes, administrative appeals possess qualities that are equivalent to those of judicial trials (Article 107 (3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea).

- The purpose of administrative appeals is to ensure that there is an opportunity for administrative bodies to regulate their administrative activities in an autonomous manner. By requiring the administrative agency to review its administrative disposition and providing an opportunity to rectify it, the autonomy of administrative authority is accorded respect (Supreme Court’s Decision dated February 23, 1988, Case No. 87Nu704).

- By enabling administrative disputes to be reviewed and adjudicated by an administrative body in accordance with a relatively simple procedure, administrative appeals utilize expertise on administration, avoid wastage of time and expenses that result from judicial procedures, and realize judicial economy. As such, administrative appeals play a role in supplementing judicial function.

- If the administrative appeals system operates objectively and fairly, then by performing the function of an initial filter on administrative disputes, it can reduce the burden on the courts and avoid an unnecessary wastage of time or expenses on the part of the citizens.

- Under the current legislation, administrative disputes in the Republic of Korea can be categorized as administrative appeals, in which the administrative agency is the adjudicator, and administrative litigation, in which the court is the adjudicator.

- As for the relationship between administrative appeals and administrative litigation, the former Administrative Litigation Act had adopted the principle of ‘administrative appeal before litigation’, under which an administrative appeal had to be filed first before an administrative lawsuit could be filed. The current Administrative Litigation Act, on the other hand, adopts the principle of ‘administrative appeal at discretion’ under which an administrative lawsuit may be filed, even in a case where an administrative appeal may be filed, without having to first go through an administrative appeal (Article 18 (1) of the Administrative Litigation Act).