Do-Hyun Kim et al. v. South Korea

The document details the case of Do-Hyun Kim et al. v. South Korea, where 19 members of 'Youth4ClimateAction' challenged the constitutionality of the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth. The applicants argue that the government's failure to maintain sufficient greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets violates rights to human dignity, equality, and a healthy environment. Specifically, they contest the President's authority to modify targets via decree, claiming it constitutes an unconstitutional 'blanket delegation' of power and fails to meet the minimum protective measures required to mitigate climate change impacts, which are noted to be particularly severe in South Korea.

• Nineteen youth applicants from 'Youth4ClimateAction' filed a complaint on 13 March 2020, arguing that the South Korean government failed to establish adequate GHG reduction targets and that the President unconstitutionally exceeded his powers by changing these targets.
• The applicants challenge the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth, specifically Article 42(1)1, claiming it provides the President with 'extreme and unlimited discretion' to change GHG targets, which they argue is a 'blanket delegation' violating Article 75 of the Korean constitution.
• The complaint highlights a shift in targets where the 2020 GHG Reduction Target of 543 million tons was abolished and replaced by a 2030 target of 536 million tons, which the applicants claim is below the minimum goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
• The applicants argue that the state's failure to protect environmental rights is particularly grave because South Korea has experienced higher temperature increases than the global average and suffers from rising sea levels, extreme weather, and precipitation fluctuations.
• The legal challenge asserts that the current policy framework violates several constitutional rights, including the right to human dignity (Article 10), equal protection (Article 11), the right to live a humanly life (Article 34), and the right to a healthy environment (Article 35).

APA

Contributor, C. (2024). Do-Hyun Kim et al. v. South Korea. ClimaTalk. https://climatalk.org/2024/03/18/do-hyun-kim-et-al-v-south-korea/

Chicago

Contributor, ClimaTalk. Do-Hyun Kim et al. v. South Korea. ClimaTalk, 2024. https://climatalk.org/2024/03/18/do-hyun-kim-et-al-v-south-korea/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Contributor |first1=ClimaTalk |title=Do-Hyun Kim et al. v. South Korea |publisher=ClimaTalk |date=18 March 2024 |url=https://climatalk.org/2024/03/18/do-hyun-kim-et-al-v-south-korea/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{contributor2024dohyun, author = {Contributor, ClimaTalk}, title = {{Do-Hyun Kim et al. v. South Korea}}, institution = {ClimaTalk}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://climatalk.org/2024/03/18/do-hyun-kim-et-al-v-south-korea/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }