Kim Sang-hwan (20th Judicial Research and Training Institute), a former Supreme Court justice, was nominated as the head of the Constitutional Court on the 26th. He is a '30-year judge' and was appointed as a Supreme Court justice during the presidency of Moon Jae-in. He was also appointed as the head of the Court Administration Office during the tenure of Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo. He is also a member of the International Human Rights Law Research Association, a group of progressive judges. As the head of the Constitutional Court must be appointed from among the constitutional judges, he has also been nominated as a candidate for constitutional judge.

Former Supreme Court Justice Kim Sang-hwan./Courtesy of News1

Candidate Kim Sang-hwan was born in Daejeon and graduated from Bomun High School in Daejeon and the law school at Seoul National University. He passed the bar exam in 1988. After graduating from the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he began his judicial career at the Busan District Court. He has served as a Supreme Court judicial researcher, chief judge of the Jeju District Court, chief judge of the Changwon Division of the Busan High Court, presiding judge of the Seoul High Court, and presiding judge of the Civil Affairs Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Court. Additionally, he served as a constitutional researcher at the Constitutional Court twice, in 2002 and 2008.

Candidate Kim became a Supreme Court justice in December 2018. He was appointed by President Moon Jae-in at the recommendation of Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo. Subsequently, in May 2021, he was appointed as the head of the Court Administration Office by Chief Justice Kim. After retiring in December last year, he is currently serving as a chair professor at the Jeju National University School of Law.

Candidate Kim is from the International Human Rights Law Research Association, a group of progressive judges within the court. It is said that he withdrew from this association after being appointed as the head of the Court Administration Office in 2021.

Candidate Kim's brother is Kim Jun-hwan, who served as the second and third deputy director of the National Intelligence Service during the Moon Jae-in administration.