Korean Law Search

Korean Law Search is an integrated tool that utilizes the Open API from Korea's National Law Information Center (law.go.kr), operated by the Ministry of Government Legislation, to search laws, court precedents, administrative rules, and local ordinances in one place. ■ Law Search You can search current laws including the Constitution, statutes, presidential decrees, prime ministerial ordinances, and ministerial ordinances. Enter a law name or keyword to see a list of related laws with details such as the governing agency, enforcement date, and promulgation date. Click on a law to visit the detailed page on the National Law Information Center where you can read the full text of all articles. ■ Precedent Search You can search court precedents including Supreme Court decisions and lower court rulings. Search by case name or legal keyword to see a list of related precedents. The inline detail view lets you check ruling points, ruling summaries, and reference articles directly. Information such as court name, case number, and ruling date is also provided. ■ Administrative Rules Search You can search administrative rules such as public notices, directives, regulations, and guidelines established by government ministries. These administrative rules, which provide specific implementation methods delegated by laws, are crucial reference materials in practice. ■ Local Ordinance Search You can search ordinances and rules enacted by local government bodies. Search local regulations by keyword across metropolitan cities, provinces, and districts. This is useful for comparing regional policy differences in areas such as parking, environment, welfare, and education.

Korean Law Search is organized into 4 tabs, each allowing you to search different types of legal information. ■ Basic Search Method ① Select the search type from the tabs at the top (Laws/Precedents/Admin Rules/Ordinances). ② Enter your search keyword. You can enter law names, keywords, or legal terms. ③ Click the 'Search' button or press Enter. ④ Search results will be displayed as a list. ■ Viewing Search Results • Laws/Admin Rules/Ordinances: Click an item to open the detailed page on the National Law Information Center in a new tab. • Precedents: Click 'View details' to expand ruling points, ruling summary, and reference articles inline. You can also click the 'View on law.go.kr' link to see the full text. ■ Load More If there are more than 20 results, click the 'Load more' button at the bottom to fetch additional results. ■ Search Tips • Entering the exact law name yields faster results (e.g., 'Labor Standards Act', 'Civil Act'). • Using specific keywords returns more relevant results (e.g., 'lease deposit', 'wrongful dismissal'). • Switching tabs lets you search different types of legal information with the same keyword.

Korea's legal information is organized in a systematic hierarchy. Understanding each type helps you search more effectively. ■ Legal Hierarchy Korean law is structured with the Constitution at the top, followed by Statutes (Acts) → Presidential Decrees (Enforcement Decrees) → Prime Ministerial/Ministerial Ordinances (Enforcement Rules). Statutes are enacted by the National Assembly, while enforcement decrees and rules are established by the executive branch under delegation from statutes. For example: Labor Standards Act (statute) → Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act (presidential decree) → Enforcement Rules of the Labor Standards Act (ministerial ordinance). ■ Types of Precedents Precedents are judicial decisions made by courts. Supreme Court decisions carry de facto binding authority on lower courts and serve as standards for legal interpretation. They include Constitutional Court decisions and rulings from various levels of courts. Ruling points summarize the core legal issues, while ruling summaries outline the court's reasoning. ■ Types of Administrative Rules Administrative rules include public notices (gosi), directives (hunryeong), regulations (yegyu), and guidelines (jichim). Public notices specify matters delegated by law, directives set operational standards from higher to lower agencies, regulations establish standards for repetitive administrative tasks, and guidelines define specific procedures for particular duties. ■ Types of Local Ordinances Local ordinances are laws enacted by local governments, divided into ordinances (jorae) and rules (gyuchik). Ordinances are enacted by local councils, while rules are established by heads of local governments. They regulate matters closely related to residents' daily lives, such as parking, environment, welfare, and education.

■ Search by exact law name If you know the name of the law you're looking for, entering the exact name is the fastest approach. Use official titles like 'Civil Act', 'Criminal Act', or 'Income Tax Act' for precise results. ■ Use core keywords When you don't know the exact law name, search with related keywords. For example, searching 'lease deposit' will return the Housing Lease Protection Act, Commercial Building Lease Protection Act, and other related laws. ■ Use legal issues as keywords for precedent searches Entering keywords like 'wrongful dismissal', 'scope of damages', or 'contract termination' helps find relevant precedents effectively. You can also search by case number if you have one. ■ Include region names for local ordinances When searching local ordinances, include the region name such as 'Seoul parking' or 'Gyeonggi-do environment' to quickly find ordinances for a specific area. ■ Check law revision history Verify whether a law is 'current' (현행) in the search results. Historical laws may no longer be in effect. Always check the revision history and enforcement dates on the detailed page of the National Law Information Center.