The constitution and your rights

Article 1 of the Constitution states it in one line: "The Republic of Korea shall be a democratic republic." Republic means there is no monarch; democratic means the people decide.

• 헌법 제1조에서 대한민국을 무엇이라고 합니까?What does Article 1 of the Constitution call the Republic of Korea?

Article 1(2): "Sovereignty resides in the people, and all state authority emanates from the people." Sovereignty is the highest power to decide the country's course.

• 우리나라에서 국가의 주인은 누구입니까?Who is the owner of the state in Korea?
• 대한민국의 모든 권력은 누구로부터 나옵니까?From whom does all authority of the Republic of Korea emanate?
• 국가권력의 근원은 누구입니까?Who is the source of state power?

Any law, decree or official act that conflicts with it loses force. The Constitutional Court decides whether it conflicts.

• 모든 법률의 기준이 되는 가장 높은 법은 무엇입니까?What is the highest law that all other laws must follow?

The June Democratic Struggle of 1987 forced it. Its central change was restoring direct election of the president.

• 현재 헌법의 마지막 전면 개정은 몇 년입니까?In what year was the last full revision of the current Constitution?

It was amended in October 1987 but took effect four months later, the day the new president was sworn in.

• 1987년 개정 헌법은 언제부터 시행되었습니까?From when has the 1987 amended Constitution been in force?

The Constitution assigns them in three separate chapters: the Assembly makes law, the government carries it out, the courts apply it.

• 삼권분립의 세 권력은 무엇입니까?What are the three powers of the separation of powers?

Article 40: "Legislative power shall be vested in the National Assembly." Its 300 members are elected for four years.

• 법률을 만드는 권한은 어느 기관에 있습니까?Which body has the power to make laws?

Article 66(4) vests it in the Government headed by the President. It runs the ministries and enforces the laws.

• 국가의 행정을 집행하는 기관은 어디입니까?Which body carries out the administration of the state?

Article 101: judicial power is vested in courts composed of judges. Judges rule only by the Constitution, law and conscience.

• 재판을 담당하는 국가기관은 어디입니까?Which state body conducts trials?

The point is not efficiency but safety: if one branch could do everything, nothing would stop it.

• 국가권력을 세 부분으로 나누는 제도를 무엇이라고 합니까?What is the system of dividing state power into three called?

It binds the state first: officials may do only what law allows, while citizens may do anything law does not forbid.

• 법에 의한 국가 운영 원칙을 무엇이라고 합니까?What is the principle of running the state by law called?

Liberal means individual freedom comes first; democracy means power is decided by free elections. The Constitution's preamble names it.

• 헌법이 지키려는 민주적 기본질서는 무엇입니까?What democratic basic order does the Constitution protect?

Article 4 commits Korea to unification "based on the basic free and democratic order" — by agreement, not by force.

• 우리나라가 추구하는 통일의 원칙은 무엇입니까?What principle of unification does Korea pursue?

It works only after free debate — a vote without discussion is counting heads, not deciding together.

Today's minority can be tomorrow's majority, so their view is recorded and they keep the right to persuade.

Article 39. For men this includes military service of about 18 to 21 months; naturalised citizens' sons serve on the same terms.

• 외부 침략으로부터 국가를 지키는 국민의 의무는 무엇입니까?What duty of citizens protects the state from outside attack?

Article 38. Taxes can be set only by statute — the state cannot invent a tax without the Assembly passing it.

• 국민의 4대 의무 중 세금과 관련된 것은 무엇입니까?Which of the four duties concerns taxes?

The duty falls on the parent, not the child. Elementary and middle school — nine years — are compulsory and free.

• 국민의 4대 의무 중 자녀 교육과 관련된 것은 무엇입니까?Which of the four duties concerns children's education?

It is a duty without punishment — no one is jailed for not working. It declares work a shared foundation of the community.

• 헌법이 정한 노동 관련 국민의 의무는 무엇입니까?What work-related duty of citizens does the Constitution set?

Article 10 opens the bill of rights with it. Every other right in the Constitution exists to protect this one value.

• 헌법 제10조의 핵심 가치로 인간에게 인정되는 것은 무엇입니까?What is recognised in every person as the core value of Article 10?

Article 11 names sex, religion and social status, and adds that no privileged caste may ever be created.

• 모든 국민이 법적으로 동등하다는 원칙은 무엇입니까?What principle says all citizens are equal in law?

Article 12 spells out the protections: a warrant from a judge, the right to counsel, and the right to remain silent.

• 부당한 체포나 구속으로부터 보호받는 자유는 무엇입니까?What freedom protects against unjust arrest or confinement?

It includes leaving and returning to the country. In the Joseon era commoners needed permission to travel; this freedom ended that world.

• 국내에서 거주지를 옮길 수 있는 헌법상 자유는 무엇입니까?What constitutional freedom lets you move your home within the country?

It covers choosing, changing and quitting a job. Licences for doctors or drivers are limits the law may set for safety.

• 어떤 일을 직업으로 할지 결정할 권리는 무엇입니까?What right lets you decide what work to do as your job?

Not believing is protected just as firmly. The state has no official religion, and religion and state are separated.

• 신앙을 선택할 수 있는 헌법상 자유는 무엇입니까?What constitutional freedom lets you choose your faith?

Article 21 also bans censorship in advance — the state may not screen what can be said before it is said.

• 신문·방송·출판 등 표현 활동과 관련된 자유는 무엇입니까?What freedom covers newspapers, broadcasting and publishing?

A peaceful assembly needs no permission — only a prior report to the police, which they cannot refuse at will.

• 집회와 단체 결성을 보장하는 기본권은 무엇입니까?What basic right guarantees assembly and forming associations?

Article 23 protects it but adds a condition unique among rights: its exercise must also serve the public welfare.

• 헌법이 보장하는 개인의 소유권 관련 기본권은 무엇입니까?What basic right concerns ownership guaranteed by the Constitution?

Every citizen aged 18 or over has it. Naturalised citizens vote in every election from the day they gain nationality.

• 투표를 할 수 있는 국민의 권리를 무엇이라고 합니까?What is the right of citizens to cast a vote called?

It is the other side of the vote: the right not only to choose, but to stand and be chosen.

• 공직에 취임할 수 있는 기본권은 무엇입니까?What basic right allows taking up public office?

Article 26 obliges the state to examine every petition. The National Assembly and every city hall run petition desks.

• 국민이 국가에 문서로 요구할 수 있는 기본권은 무엇입니까?What basic right lets citizens make written requests to the state?

It means trial by a judge under law — no one may be punished by an official's decision alone.

• 분쟁이 생겼을 때 법원의 판단을 요구할 수 있는 기본권은 무엇입니까?What basic right lets you ask a court to judge a dispute?

The state pays first for its official's wrong; it may then recover from the official. The victim need not chase the individual.

• 공무 수행 중 위법행위로 피해를 입은 국민이 행사할 수 있는 권리는 무엇입니까?What right can a citizen harmed by unlawful official conduct exercise?

It bundles three things: voting, standing for office, and voting in referendums. It begins at 18.

They ask the state to stay out — their common shape is "the state shall not interfere."

The opposite shape of liberty rights: they ask the state to step in and provide — schools, jobs, welfare.

A way to remember: equal footing, freedom from the state, a voice in it, a claim on it, and support from it.

Article 33. In order: form a union, negotiate with the employer as one, and strike when negotiation fails.