The Honorable Justice KO Young-han was born in Gwangju on February 7, 1955. Justice Ko earned his LL.B. from Seoul National University and passed the 21st National Judicial Examination in 1979. He was appointed as a judge in September 1984 and started his judgeship at Daejeon District Court.

He served as a judge at Seoul Central District Court, Gwangju High Court, Seoul High Court, the Supreme Court, and the National Court Administration. Also, he served as the Chief Judge of Jeonju District Court. He was appointed as Justice on August 2012 while serving as the Vice Minister of the National Court Administration.

While serving as a judge in Seoul High Court, he rendered judgment on parliamentary immunity, the absolute privilege of lawmakers, which became one of the top 100 court decisions in the history of Korean judiciary. While taking various positions such as a judge of all levels of court, a research judge in the Supreme Court, and the Chief Presiding Judge of bankruptcy division in Seoul Central District Court, he rendered a number of judgments that greatly contributed to social integration and resolving sharply divergent conflicts of interests by applying accurate legal principle and making reasonable conclusion. As the Vice Minister of the National Court Administration, he took the lead in introducing a new personnel system of appointing judges among those who passed the Bar Exam and with certain period of experience in the legal sector as lawyers, public prosecutors, or law professors in order to widen the pool of judges to improve the quality of judging. Also, he devoted his effort to firmly establishing lifetime appointment for judges until they reach full retirement age.

Justice Ko composed a number of theses and commentary publications. He co-authored Criminal Law Commentary and Corporate Rehabilitation. He also produced several theses and annotations including Extraterritorial Application of Antitrust Law, based on his practical experience on corporate bankruptcy and rehabilitation, and his profound expertise in fair trade.