Chief justice's wife joined Spain trip at taxpayer expense of W10.31m

Constitutional Court Chief Justice Kim Sang-hwan spent about 10 million won ($7,360) in public funds on travel expenses for his spouse during an official trip to Madrid, Spain, last year.

According to documents the Constitutional Court submitted to the office of People Power Party Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun on Saturday, Kim traveled to Madrid from Oct. 26, 2025, for a week to attend the World Conference on Constitutional Justice general assembly.

The delegation included Kim, his spouse, Justice Kim Hyeong-du, the chief justice's chief of staff, a constitutional researcher and an investigator — six people in total.

The total cost of the trip came to 58.22 million won, of which 10.31 million won was spent on travel expenses for the chief justice's spouse.

The Spanish Constitutional Court had informed delegations through its invitation that each could include up to four people, comprising accompanying persons and security personnel.

A Constitutional Court official said the chief justice's spouse had accompanied him on every previous World Conference on Constitutional Justice general assembly, and that the host had approved two additional attendees for this trip as well. The official added that the term "accompanying person" was used instead of "spouse" because same-sex marriage and similar arrangements are recognized in many European countries.

The court said the general assembly invites four people each time, with two additional spots available when a full member of the Venice Commission — a constitutional advisory body — attends. Justice Kim Hyeong-du participated in his capacity as a full Venice Commission member, bringing the total additional attendees to two, including a researcher who accompanied him.

The World Conference on Constitutional Justice general assembly is held every three years. The next gathering is scheduled to take place in Cairo, Egypt, in 2028.