Tradition and the Constitution in the Context of the Korean Family Law

Abstract

Reform of Korean family law was marked by struggles between the constitutional principles and tradition. The movement to conform family law to the Constitution was retarded by the resistance of conservative groups, whose main argument was that family law ought to be rooted in tradition. But tradition alone cannot be a defense for an otherwise unconstitutional law. In the reform process, the Korean Constitutional Court played a significant role in upholding the primacy of the Constitution, as evident in the decisions regarding the common surname marriage ban and the hoju system.