Youngjoon Kwon

Youngjoon Kwon was confirmed as a South Korea Supreme Court Justice on July 19, 2023. He was nominated on June 9. He will serve in this position for six years on the 14-member court.

He attended Seoul National University School of Law and passed the bar exam in 1993. He also holds a doctorate degree from Seoul National University and a master’s degree from Harvard Law School.

He was appointed as a judge in the Seoul District Court in 1999. Previoiusly, he served as a judge advocate general in the military.

He has been a professor at Seoul National University School of Law since 2006 and served twice as vice dean of the Graduate School of Law.

As a legal scholar, Kwon has studied civil, intellectual property, privacy, and international trade aspects of the law. He has also published more than 30 books and 80 academic papers. In addition, he has served as a working member of the Civil Law Revision Committee of the Ministry of Justice, chairman of the Legal Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Justice and a member of the National Intellectual Property Committee.[1]

Kwon was sustained as an Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in April 2020. He has served as a stake president, bishop, bishopric member, and high councilor. He was first introduced to the Church in 1975 when his parents were baptized.

He also served as a missionary. “The missionary service I did after entering law school — postponing my studies for a year — changed my life,” he said. “I met so many people in need and had so many deep conversations. I cried a lot of tears because I was very sensitive. Even though my studies were delayed by a year, my reverence for life deepened tenfold. I realized more quickly that law is also a study of life.”

In written testimony prior to his confirmation hearing, Kwon submitted various materials to Congress that emphasize the good the Church of Jesus Christ does in society.

Kwon and his wife, Yeonshin, are the parents of four children.