이홍훈 대법관의 사법철학: 정의와 평화를 향하여

Hong-Hoon Lee was born in Gochang County, North Jeolla Province in 1946. In 1962, he attended Gyunggi High School, located in Seoul, and entered Seoul National University College of Law in 1965. During his college years, he participated in the student movement for democratization and began to prepare for the National Judicial Examination. After passing the 14th National Judicial Examination in 1972, he served as a military judicial officer and then became a judge in 1977. Though he suffered anguish serving as a judge during the military dictatorship, he was able to voice his own opinions as a chief judge after the 1990s. He became recognized as a liberal judge with his progressive rulings in the areas including rights of women, environmental rights, and the freedom of speech. He continued to rule in the interest of the public as a chief judge of the High Court. During this period of time, there were great advances in study in the fields of environmental law, administrative law, and civil law. In 2006, Hong-Hoon Lee was appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court at the age of 60. Recognized as one of the liberal Justices in the Supreme Court, he took part in numerous cases until his retirement at the age of 65, which included 79 en banc decisions on critical issues in the Korean society. In civil and administrative cases, Justice Hong-Hoon Lee presented particularly strong opinions through which his legal philosophy can be better understood. Justice Hong-Hoon Lee defined law as determination to realize justice and orders and rules to serve justice. Such legal concepts underlay his legal interpretation of fulfilling the constitutional principles and strongly protecting freedom and rights of citizens, thereby pursuing the harmony of law and order as a whole. Human life, freedom and equality, abolition of suppression, and environmental protection were the legal values that Justice Hong-Hoon Lee pursued through which he sought the harmonious balance between democracy and the rule of law. After his retirement from the Supreme Court, he continued to engage in public interest activities and returned to his hometown where he spent a considerable amount of time tending a garden. Though Justice Hong-Hoon Lee, revered by many, passed away in 2021, the judicial philosophy for justice and peace will continue to have a profound resonance for the legal professionals of the next generation.