Ryan Park, the North Carolina Solicitor General, has been nominated to serve as a judge on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which holds significant influence over the legal landscape in the eastern United States, covering Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Park will be the first Asian-Pacific American and Korean-American judge to serve on this court.
Park, who was appointed as the Deputy Solicitor General for North Carolina in 2017 and promoted to Solicitor General in 2020, has previously served as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Law School (2010), Park also has experience teaching English to high school students in Gwangju, South Korea, through a Fulbright Fellowship. His father, Dr. Myung-chun Park, was a urologist who practiced in Florida, and his wife, Eugene Park, is also a medical doctor.
Park’s nomination has received substantial support from major judicial institutions within the jurisdiction. Although North Carolina’s Republican senators oppose his nomination, the Democratic majority in the Senate is expected to confirm him without significant hurdles.
BY INSEONG CHOI, YOUNGNAM KIM [choi.inseong@koreadaily.com]
