section_path: Organization/Rapporteur Judges
section_name: Rapporteur Judges
paragraph_text: Rapporteur Judges
  
  Rapporteur judges (헌법연구관, formerly known as constitutional research officers) support the court's nine justices by conducting investigations and research for case review and adjudication. They prepare memoranda and draft decisions, functioning similarly to judicial assistants such as conseillers référendaires in the French Court of Cassation or Gerichtsschreiber in the Swiss Bundesgericht. These roles typically last 5 to 10 years or more until retirement, unlike law clerks in the United States Supreme Court who serve as interns for 1 to 2 years.
  
  Rapporteur judges are appointed by the court's president, with the consent of the Council of Justices, under Article 16 Clause 4 and Article 19 Clause 3 of the Constitutional Court Act. They serve renewable ten-year terms, the same tenure system as lower ordinary court judges (판사) in South Korea. Of note, rapporteur judges serve longer than justices and are paid at the same rate as lower ordinary court judges, ensuring continuity of constitutional adjudication in South Korea. Some positions for rapporteur judges are filled with lower ordinary court judges or prosecutors seconded from outside the Constitutional Court for one to two years, enhancing the court's diversity and insight according to Article 19 Clause 9 of the Constitutional Court Act. In addition to rapporteur judges, the court also includes constitutional researchers (헌법연구원) and academic advisers (헌법연구위원), who work for two to five years assisting in research mainly on comparative law related to the court's ongoing cases, under Article 19 Clause 3 of the Constitutional Court Act.