Chief Justice Martha Koome has been named the inaugural international recipient of South Korea’s Sejong Legal Culture Award, honouring her contribution to the rule of law, access to justice and the protection of vulnerable members of society.
Justice Koome received the award on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at a ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, jointly presented by the Supreme Court of Korea and the World Bank.
The Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations was named alongside her as the inaugural national recipient, recognised for seven decades of providing legal aid and protecting vulnerable people within South Korea.
The ceremony formed part of a wider gathering of chief justices from across the Asia-Pacific region who convened in Seoul for a judicial summit, with Kwak Bae-hee, head of the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations, and Dave Sullivan, Deputy General Counsel at the World Bank, among those present alongside Justice Koome and her Korean counterpart.
The award is built around the people-centred legal philosophy associated with King Sejong the Great, the 15th-century Korean monarch credited with creating Hunminjeongeum, the original writing system that evolved into modern Hangeul.
“Laws and institutions should not merely be tools of governance, but must be used to care for and protect the lives of the people,” South Korea’s Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae said.
He described how King Sejong’s creation of an accessible writing system had, in its time, opened a path for ordinary people, including the socially vulnerable, to appeal their grievances in writing during legal disputes and assert their rights.
- CJ Koome, five senior judges survive ouster storm at JSC
- CJ Koome sounds alarm over rising corruption in Judiciary
Jo said that same underlying philosophy remains directly relevant to modern justice systems, particularly in ensuring vulnerable groups are not excluded from legal protection, a connection he drew explicitly to “the universal value we aspire to today, the protection of the socially vulnerable.”
Justice Koome was recognised specifically for her work strengthening judicial independence, expanding public access to justice, modernising Kenya’s judicial system and protecting vulnerable groups, including women and children, over the course of her tenure as Chief Justice.
The Kenya Embassy in Seoul welcomed the honour as a significant milestone, both for the Judiciary and for Kenyan women’s leadership on the international stage, describing the award as recognition of Justice Koome’s commitment to the rule of law, access to justice, judicial independence and the protection of women, children and other vulnerable members of society.
That relationship has been building steadily in recent weeks. Earlier this month, on September 11, Justice Koome hosted South Korean Ambassador to Kenya Kang Hyungshik at the Judiciary’s headquarters for talks on strengthening cooperation between the two countries’ judicial institutions, identifying digital justice, artificial intelligence, case management, judicial training and innovation as areas with potential for closer collaboration.
“As Kenya and Korea strengthen cooperation in areas such as technology, health, agriculture and infrastructure, justice and the rule of law should form an equally important dimension of our partnership,” Justice Koome said following that meeting.
During the same engagement, she also highlighted Kenya’s candidacy of Lady Justice Njoki Ndungu for election as a judge of the International Criminal Court.
Email your news TIPS to Editor@nairobilawmonthly.com, and to advertise with us, call +254715061658 anytime of the day
