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🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

Lawmaker Urges Review of Supreme Court Appointments, Cites 'Judicial Politics'

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Park Jie-won, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae for appointing two associate justices without prior consultation with the presidential office.
  • Park accused Cho of engaging in 'judicial politics' and attempting to 'insert' a justice into the court, urging a review of the appointments.
  • The appointments, particularly the second one, are seen by Park as disregarding both the President and the National Assembly, potentially leading to Cho's impeachment.

Park Jie-won, a prominent member of the Democratic Party and the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, has strongly criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's recent recommendations for two associate justice positions. Park alleges that Cho made these recommendations via written submission without prior coordination with the presidential office, a move he describes as Cho pursuing his own 'judicial politics.'

Chief Justice Cho is pursuing his own judicial politics.

— Park Jie-wonCriticizing the Supreme Court Chief Justice's method of recommending associate justices.

Park specifically pointed to the recommendation of Judge Kim Sung-soo as a successor to Justice Lee Heung-gu, whose term ends next month. He noted that Judge Son Bong-ki, recommended for the position vacated by former Justice Noh Tae-hak in March, had been considered previously but was reportedly rejected by the President. Park views the inclusion of Kim Sung-soo in the current recommendation list as an attempt to 'insert' a justice, thereby disregarding the President's stance and the National Assembly's role.

While acknowledging the Chief Justice's authority to recommend candidates, Park emphasized that the President holds the ultimate appointment power. He argued that the recommendation process typically involves prior consultation with the court administration and the presidential office. Park stated that the Chief Justice should not engage in 'haggling' with the President over appointments, especially given Cho's limited remaining term and ongoing discussions within the Democratic Party about potentially impeaching him.

Inserting Judge Kim Sung-soo now disregards both the President and the National Assembly.

— Park Jie-wonExpressing concern over the perceived unilateral nature of the judicial appointments.

The controversy is further fueled by the Supreme Court's decision in May last year, shortly before the presidential election, to overturn a lower court's acquittal of President Lee Jae-myung on charges of spreading false information during the election campaign. Park suggested that Chief Justice Cho's current actions could accelerate discussions about his impeachment, warning that such conduct could lead to his removal from office.

If he continues like this, it will inevitably lead to the impeachment of Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.

— Park Jie-wonWarning about the potential consequences of the Chief Justice's actions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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