Yang Sung-tae

Who is Yang Sung-tae?

Yang Sung-tae is the 15th and current Chief Justice of the Republic of Korea.

Born in Busan, South Korea on January 26, 1948, Sung-tae received a LL.B. from Seoul National University in 1970. He began his law career in 1975 as a judge of Seoul Civil District Court, and afterwards served as a judge in several nationwide courts. He also taught as a professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. He was later appointed as the Chief Judge of Busan District Court and Patent Court.

During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Chief Justice Sung-tae, as the senior presiding justice of the Bankruptcy Chambers of Seoul Central District Court, ordered court supervision of bankrupt companies based on fairness and transparency. As the Vice Minister of the National Court Administration, he played a role in reforming criminal procedure.

In February 2005, he was named a Supreme Court Justice and served until February 2011. On September 25, 2011, he was inaugurated as the 15th Chief Justice of the Republic of Korea.