Korean Public Law Association to Host 2026 Conference: "Must Protect Human Dignity"

The Korean Public Law Association, led by President Lee Hee-jeong, a professor at Korea University School of Law, will host the 2026 Korean Public Law Scholars Conference at the KAIST Daejeon Campus for two days starting September 18.

Lee Hee-jeong, president of the association and professor at Korea University School of Law, stated, "This conference can be seen as a process of gathering answers to the question of our era: what role public law can and should play to steer the direction of scientific and technological progress in a human-centered way".

The key agenda of this conference is "Technological Innovation and the Tasks of Public Law".


Professor Lee said, "In human civilization, science and technology serve as a core pillar, and law is also a pillar that has sustained human civilization." She added, "If science and technology have been tools to defend human life against nature's randomness and limitations, law is a tool of wisdom devised by humanity to control chaos and violence and to secure predictability and peace."

Professor Lee emphasized, "In particular, today's advancement of science and technology, including artificial intelligence, demands fresh reflection from public law." She urged, "While keeping open a space for experimentation and growth where the potential for innovation can breathe freely, we must thoroughly protect the constitutional values of human dignity and safety."

Professor Lee also underscored the role of public law, noting, "There is an inevitable gap between the exponentially accelerating pace of technology and its implications for human society, and the deliberate pace of law, which mediates value conflicts and accumulates social consensus."

On Day 1 (September 18, Nam Pyo Suh Fusion Hall, 1st floor of KAIST Main Campus), presentations will take place across eight sessions, including four sessions led by the Korean Public Law Association, the Korea Constitutional Law Association, the Korea Administrative Law Association, and the Science and Technology Policy Institute, along with four special sessions marking the 20th Anniversary Seminar of the Legislative Evaluation Research Project by the Korea Legislation Research Institute.

On Day 2 (September 19, Creative Learning Building), presentations and discussions will be held across a total of 46 sessions.

Lee Seung-ryeon, president of the Judicial Policy Research Institute, said in a welcoming address, "Cutting-edge science and technology, including artificial intelligence, are deeply influencing not only daily life and industry but also the ways the state and administration operate, demanding that we reexamine the core values of public law in a new context".

President Lee further analyzed, "How the judicial sector will examine and control algorithm-based decisions, the use of large-scale data, scientific and technological uncertainties, and emerging risks is also an important topic."

Kim Jong-cheol, chairperson of the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission, also remarked in a congratulatory address, "Humanity across the globe faces an era of great transformation." He assessed, "This great transformation also calls for a transformation in public law, the academic system concerning the normative order of the state and society".

Chairperson Kim added, "Technological innovation detached from universal human values can hasten the downfall of humanity and deepen absurdities, meaning that public law's response to embrace technological innovation within the framework of the values and principles of human civilization cannot be neglected for even a moment."

The conference is co-organized and hosted by KAIST, hosted by the Ministry of Government Legislation, the National Assembly Research Service, and the Judicial Policy Research Institute, and sponsored by Kim & Chang, Lee & Ko, Shin & Kim, and Naver.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.