Korea (Rep.)

Judge Kim began his judgeship in 1998 and currently hears criminal cases as a presiding judge at the Suncheon branch of the Kwangju district court in the Republic of Korea. He graduated from Seoul National University Law College in 1993 and studied international refugee law as a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan Law School during the 2002-2003 academic year. He is the author of the first judicial decision in Korea that considered merits of refugee application in 2002. His article "The refugee definition in Geneva Convention and refugee related procedural issues in Korean Immigration Law" was published by the Korean Supreme Court in 2003 and it has been widely quoted as a leading article in refugee law by legal professors, lawyers and NGO activists. He is a member of International Association of Refugee Law Judges(IARLJ) and in close contact with the UNHCR office in Seoul for cooperation to enhance refugee sensitivity in Korean jurisprudence.

Dr. Osamu Arakaki holds a Ph.D in Law from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He is Associate Professor at Shigakukan University in Japan and recently was a Visiting Fellow in the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School. Dr. Arakaki's previous experience includes serving as the Associate Specialist for the Japan International Cooperation Agency and as an Associate Legal Officer for the Office of the UNHCR.