Martha Koome receives inaugural Sejong Award for Legal Excellence

Chief Justice Martha Koome has been named the inaugural international recipient of the Sejong Award for Legal Excellence. The award, jointly presented by the Supreme Court of Korea and the World Bank Group, recognizes achievements in the rule of law, access to justice, and judicial cooperation.

The ceremony took place on September 16, 2026, at the Grand Hyatt Seoul during a judicial summit for chief justices from the Asia-Pacific region. The award is inspired by the philosophy of King Sejong the Great, the 15th-century Korean monarch who promoted accessible knowledge and institutions to serve the public. This legacy is linked to Koome’s ‘Social Transformation through Access to Justice’ (STAJ) vision, which focuses on making the justice system people-centered and accessible to ordinary citizens.

Alongside Koome, the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations was named the inaugural national recipient for its seven decades of providing legal aid to vulnerable populations in South Korea.