Blue House: President's Appointment Power Violated; Chief Justice Cho: 'Rule of Law is Precious'

The Blue House has firmly restated its position that Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's written nomination of Supreme Court candidates "infringes upon the president's appointment authority." This assertion comes after Chief Justice Cho, who had previously maintained silence on the matter, publicly emphasized the value of the "rule of law" in controlling arbitrary state power and safeguarding citizens' freedoms.

Presidential Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Hong Ik-pyo stated in a parliamentary inquiry that the chief justice's nomination process deviated significantly from established practices and that he agreed with the perception that the president's appointment power had been somewhat infringed upon. The Blue House is reportedly giving serious consideration to rejecting the nomination of candidate Son Bong-ki, a judge at the Daegu District Court, due to the absence of prior consultation, a move described by Blue House Senior Spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung as "unprecedented in Korean constitutional history."

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The rule of law, which controls the arbitrary exercise of state power and protects the freedom and rights of the people, is even more precious.

Chief Justice Cho, speaking at the '34th Lawyers Conference for the Rule of Law' organized by the Korean Bar Association, stressed the judiciary's duty to "substantially realize the rule of law in our society" by exercising its judicial power strictly in accordance with the constitution and laws. While he did not directly address the current dispute, his emphasis on "judicial power" and the "rule of law" is being interpreted as an indirect rebuttal to the Blue House's claims.

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The presidential appointment authority has been infringed upon to a certain extent.

Adding to the political tension, Han Chan-sik, the Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, who has been in a strained relationship with Chief Justice Cho over the nomination issue, attended the event to read the president's congratulatory message. Also present was Rep. Seo Young-kyo, chairperson of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, who directly addressed Chief Justice Cho, urging judges to "pursue the truth definitively and not be biased."

The Democratic Party has continued to pressure Chief Justice Cho to resign voluntarily and has initiated discussions on judicial reform. Party leader Kim Min-seok suggested that Chief Justice Cho's strategy might be to provoke the government into rejecting the nomination committee's proposal, thereby nullifying the committee itself. He proposed reviewing amendments to the Court Organization Act to prevent such maneuvers in the future, with some within the party also discussing the abolition of the Court Management Service, which controls judges nationwide.

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This is an unprecedented situation in Korean constitutional history.