Our judiciary actively promotes international judicial cooperation and exchanges among diverse jurisdictions. We have developed connections through close collaborations with judiciaries and international organizations worldwide. The exchanges of our judiciary reflect our commitment to upholding common legal values and the rule of law. In 2024, the Supreme Court of Korea welcomed 532 visitors from 23 countries.

The leadership of our judiciary has consistently demonstrated a strong interest in international judicial exchanges and is actively working to enhance cooperation among countries. This dedication to international exchanges continues under the leadership of the Honorable Chief Justice JO Hee-de, who was sworn in as the 17th Chief Justice of Korea on December 8, 2023.

Since 2009, the Supreme Court has hosted annual international conferences, inviting judges and esteemed legal experts from around the world to discuss the current state and challenges concerning the courts. These discussions facilitate the exchange of ideas concerning different countries' judicial systems and legal practices, providing a platform for high-level meetings with judges, practitioners, and prominent scholars. This collaboration aims to lead the Korean judiciary toward a more advanced and sophisticated system.

Additionally, the Supreme Court collaborates with the judiciaries of developing countries. We aim to contribute to these countries to uphold the rule of law. We partner with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to implement invitation programs for judges and court officials. Notable examples of this collaboration include completing three significant projects in Vietnam: the 'Project for Improvement of the Vietnam Judge's Training School' in 2008 and the 'Project for Improving Transparency and Quality of Adjudication in the People's Court of Vietnam' in 2023. A subsequent project to further advance Vietnam's judiciary is scheduled for 2024.

Since 2018, the Korean judiciary has initiated annual training projects for judicial capacity building in developing countries, referred to as ODA projects. These initiatives are designed to enhance judicial capacity, promote the rule of law, and significantly strengthen judicial cooperation with the beneficiary countries. The Judicial Research and Training Institute manages the detailed programs. Through these exchanges, the Korean judiciary will continue to uphold the rule of law in the international community.

The Supreme Court hosted the 2014 International Symposium on July 8, 2014 under the theme of ‘International Judicial Cooperation for the Rule of Law and Human Rights’. Among the 16 eminent legal professionals from home and abroad who participated as presenters ad panelists were the former President SONG Sang-hyun of the ICC, Judge KWON O-Gon of the ICTY and the former Judge CHUNG Chang-ho of Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia(ECCC). Hosting the 1st International IP Court Conference with the theme of "Court, IP and Innovation" in 2015 and the 2nd Conference with the theme of "Court, IP and future" in 2016, the Patent Court of Korea provided an arena for renowned IP judges and legal professionals around the world to compare IP litigation practices of different countries and to seek for the measures of improvement and cooperation.

In line with the trend of globalization, the Supreme Court has constantly expanded international activities of judges to nurture legal professionals equipped with international perspectives and to support the judiciary to play its role commensurate with Korea’s national prestige in the international arena.

Judge CHUNG Chang-ho has been serving as a judge of the ICC since February 2015., and also Judge BAIK Kang-jin has been serving as a judge at the Pre-trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia(ECCC) since June 2015. The Supreme Court annually seconds a judge to the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) to keep track of the recent trends in multilateral conventions which the HCCH takes initiative. Also, the Court is continuously making efforts to enhance Korean judiciary’s standing in the world by annually seconding a judge as a legal adviser to the Korean Embassy in the Netherlands and Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, respectively.