In 2019, 19 young activists sued the South Korean government over its inaction on climate change. Five years later, they achieved the impossible: the Constitutional Court of Korea declared the government’s climate plan unconstitutional and insufficient for protecting the rights of its citizens. It was the first climate litigation ruling of its kind outside of Europe.

In this episode of Climate Court Voices, we speak with Sejong Youn, the attorney behind what became known as the Korean Litigation Case. A lawyer by profession, he is also the co-founder and director of Plan 1.5, a non-profit organization that advocates for better and stronger climate policy in South Korea.

He discusses how this youth-led effort is advancing the country’s climate action movement, the challenges of working on the country’s first-ever climate court case, and the critical role of legal precedents in furthering global climate litigation.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(03:17) Plaintiffs’ arguments

(04:51) Preparing the case

(07:36) The first major victory

(08:03) How the youth led Korea’s climate movement

(11:33) Verdict

(15:04) Lobbying the government and political crisis

(17:14) An important legal precedent

(19:48) Sejong’s thoughts on climate litigation