conferred on the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court retained its deference towards the ruling dictator. In 1971, the Supreme Court resisted the oppressive rule of President Park Chung-hee and declared Article 2 of the National Compensation Act () unconstitutional, a statute that limited state liability for injured soldiers during service. President Park retaliated by refusing reappointment of Supreme Court Justices, which had been a formality. The Fourth and Fifth Republics would endow a new, differently-formed Constitutional Committee with the power of constitutional review but on the condition that a court first formally submit a request before the Committee could hear a case. This extra procedural hurdle was meant to nullify the Committee, since the Supreme Court would never authorize such requests, while allowing the Park Chung-hee regime to maintain the pretense that it granted the Committee full constitutional-review power. It effectively allowed the military junta to act with impunity. Following 1987 democratization, the Constitutional Court was restored in the Sixth Republic, with the power of constitutional review. To prevent the president from undermining the judiciary again, the 1987 constitutional amendment, which established the Sixth Republic, allows citizens to file a constitutional complaint directly with the Constitutional Court, even if courts refuse to do so. In 2015, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ranked the South Korean ordinary judiciary to be one of the most efficient in terms of trial length and trial costs. Composition Justices Since the current Constitution of South Korea doesn't specify the exact number of Supreme Court justices (), the number of justices is stipulated by the statute called the Court Organization Act () on the organization of ordinary courts. Currently in 2022, the number of justices is 14 by article 4(2) of the Act. All of the Supreme Court justices are appointed by the President of South Korea with the consent of the National Assembly, according to article 104(2) of the Constitution. It is notable that article 104(2) of the Constitution also empowers the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to recommend candidates for Supreme Court justice. To be appointed as Supreme Court justice, one should be at least 45 years old, qualified as an attorney at law, and also should have more than 20 years of experience in legal practice or academia, by article 42(1) of the Act. Council of Supreme Court Justices Article 104(2) of the Constitution requires consent of 'Council of