This dispute would probably have ended a long time ago if the Constitutional Court, which had received a petition demanding a repeal of the law in late 2006, had not taken so long to rule whether it is or is not constitutional. The main sticking point is whether it is right or wrong to use the value of a family’s aggregate real estate holdings as a basis for taxation. If the court finds this unconstitutional, then the dispute over changing the price standard for taxable homes from W600 million to more than W900 million becomes meaningless.

But it was not until Sept. 18, or 21 months after it received the petition, that the Constitutional Court held an open discussion on the matter. The public will conclude that the court had been sitting idly by, hoping that the problem would be resolved on its own with the revision of the law.

According to regulations, the Constitutional Court must rule on a petition within 180 days after a revision has been requested. But the court has been ignoring this regulation, saying it was a cautionary rule. The court dragged its feet since 2005 in coming to a ruling over the constitutionality of the Private Schools Law. A National Assembly revision of the law made it unnecessary for the court to review it, and the petition was withdrawn.

Early this month, the Constitutional Court said it would deliver a ruling on the comprehensive real estate tax by the end of this year, adding it did not deliberately drag its feet. But the court said it needed time to conduct additional research on the matter after seven similar petitions were filed since late 2006. In April this year, a court of justice sought the Constitutional Court to deliver a ruling on the comprehensive real estate law.

The court arrives at a ruling after judges deliberate on their findings based on initial investigation by judicial research teams. Major cases also undergo an open discussion, so it takes an average of a year and eight months to process a case. On top of that, the Constitutional Court says arriving at a ruling over the comprehensive real estate law is difficult due to the lack of legal precedent in other countries.

But hundreds of thousands of people have already paid comprehensive real estate taxes, and the National Tax Service will send this year’s tax notices on Nov. 25. If the court rules the law was unconstitutional after the tax notice has been sent or after people have paid, the resulting chaos is unimaginable. The Constitutional Court should stop looking over its shoulder at the political developments surrounding the law and arrive at a ruling quickly. Didn’t its judges learn in school that justice delayed is justice denied?