# Korean Law Search > Search Korean laws, court precedents, administrative rules, and local ordinances all in one place. ## What is 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. ## How to Use 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. ## Understanding the Legal Information System 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. ## Effective Legal Search Tips ■ 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. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Q. What should I do when there are too many search results? You can narrow down results by using more specific search terms. For example, use 'Capital Gains Tax' instead of 'tax', or 'Labor Standards Act' instead of 'law'. Additionally, you can switch tabs to search only the specific type you need — Laws, Precedents, Administrative Rules, or Ordinances — rather than browsing all categories. ### Q. What is the difference between ruling points and ruling summary in precedents? Ruling points (판시사항) summarize the core legal issues addressed in the case, while the ruling summary (판결요지) explains how the court ruled on those issues. You can use ruling points to quickly check if the case is relevant to your topic, then read the ruling summary for the court's specific reasoning and conclusions. ### Q. What is the difference between current laws and historical laws? Current laws (현행) are laws presently in force, while historical laws (연혁) are laws that were previously in effect but have been amended or repealed. For legal consultations or practical matters, you must always refer to current laws. Check the 'current' or 'historical' label in search results to verify the status. ### Q. How up-to-date is the data in this search tool? This tool queries the National Law Information Center's Open API in real-time. Laws, precedents, administrative rules, and ordinances are searchable as soon as they are updated by the Ministry of Government Legislation. However, for service stability, search results are cached for 1 hour and detailed information for 6 hours, so there may be a slight delay for the most recently registered information. ### Q. How should non-lawyers use legal information? Non-legal professionals can use this tool to understand basic legal information. Start by finding relevant laws and reading the applicable articles, then check precedents to see how courts have interpreted them. However, since legal interpretation is a specialized field, always consult a lawyer or legal professional for specific legal problems requiring actionable advice.