Hwang Yun-suk (1929–1961) was the first female judge in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the

Law and Society Association The Law and Society Association (LSA), founded in 1964, is a group of scholars from many fields and countries who share a common interest in the place of law in social, political, economic and cultural life. It is one of the leading professional a ...

, Berlin, Germany

Career

Hwang graduated from

Jinmyeong Girls' High School Jinmyeong Girls' High School () is a private girls high school located in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, South Korea. The school was originally established in 1906 with financial support from princess Consort Eom (Princess Sunheon) as part of king Goj ...

, and went on to study in the Faculty of Law at

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

. She passed the third annual in 1952. She took office as a prosecutor in the in 1953. In September 1954, she was appointed a judge of the First Civil Division of the , and held that position until her death. South Korea's first female

court clerk A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...

, Park Gyeong-sun (), began working for Hwang in 1960.

Death and legacy

Hwang was found dead on the morning of 21 April 1961. There is speculation she was killed by her in-laws or her husband. The Yun-suk Scholarship was established in her memory at her alma mater Jinmyeong Girls' High School in April 1962, on the first anniversary of her death, with an endowment of

₩ The won sign , is a currency symbol. It represents the South Korean won, the North Korean won and, unofficially, the old Korean won. Appearance Its appearance is "W" (the first letter of "Won") with a horizontal strike going through the cent ...

1.5 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hwang, Yun-suk 1929 births 1961 deaths South Korean judges South Korean women judges Seoul National University alumni South Korean prosecutors Yun-suk