South Korea’s Supreme Court expansion is projected to require 36.757 billion won in additional funding by 2030, according to a financial estimate submitted by the National Court Administration to the National Assembly. The estimate concerns the planned addition of 12 Supreme Court justices under an amended Court Organization Act and represents projected spending, not money already paid or a finalized annual budget.
The estimate puts additional costs at 5.462 billion won in 2028, when four justices would be added, 12.122 billion won in 2029, when the total increase would reach eight, and 19.174 billion won in 2030, when all 12 positions would be filled. Personnel expenses account for 31.957 billion won, or 86.9 percent of the projected total.
The personnel calculation assumes that each justice will have 26 support staff, including 11 judicial researchers, and applies an annual wage increase of 3 percent to the current estimated cost. The expansion therefore links a structural change in the Supreme Court to a recurring public-sector staffing burden. Legislative and budget reviews will need to examine whether the planned schedule proceeds as expected and whether the underlying staffing and wage assumptions remain valid.