Two new justices nominated for Constitutional Court

Kim Hyung-du, left, Jeong Jeong-mi . [SUPREME COURT]

Two new justices to the Constitutional Court were nominated Monday.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su nominated Judge Kim Hyung-du of Seoul High Court and Jeong Jeong-mi of Daejeon High Court to serve on the Constitutional Court’s bench.

They will replace Justice Lee Seon-ae, whose tenure ends this month, and Lee Seok-tae, whose tenure ends next month.

The nominations are the first since President Yoon Seok Yul took office.

Yoon will appoint the pair after they go through a National Assembly hearing. However, unlike Supreme Court justices, Constitutional Court judges don’t require the consent of the National Assembly.

The Constitutional Court’s bench has nine judges — three appointed by the Supreme Court Justice, three by the National Assembly and three by the president.

A court official said Chief Justice Kim appointed the two judges based on their ability to embrace and understand society’s diverse values, including their conviction to ensure constitutional values and basic rights and capacity to sympathize with and will to protect social underdogs and minorities.

This was the chief justice’s last time to appoint new justices with his tenure ending this September.

Nominee Kim, born in 1965, majored in law at Seoul National University and started his legal career as a judge at Euijeonbu District Court in 1993.

Between 2021 and 2022, Kim headed the Office of Court Administration under Chief Justice Kim.

He has taken an active part in reforming Korea’s judicial system, including the adoption of American-style law schools and the implementation of a jury system.

Nominee Jeong, born 1969, majored in public law at Seoul National University and started her career as a judge at Incheon District Court in 1996.

In particular, she has ruled in cases involving disadvantaged people, including a patient who sued their doctor after suffering paralysis in both legs following an operation and a man who sued the government for recognition after suffered schizophrenia from abuse during his mandatory military service.

The judges were picked among eight candidates and will serve for six years.

The political positions of the two nominees remain unclear, as the justices have not been very politically active.

The Constitutional Court’s bench has a liberal bend.

Only three of the current nine judges are conservatives, including outgoing Justice Lee Seon-ae.

President of the Constitutional Court Yoo Nam-seok is a liberal, as is Chief Justice Kim, both members of the liberal Woori Law Society.

Justice Moon Hyung-bae, who was picked by former President Moon Jae-in, is a member of the Woori Law Society as well.

Even before the nominations were announced, the conservative People Power Party (PPP) raised concerns Sunday over potential picks by Chief Justice Kim.

“Among the nine Constitutional Court justices, four are members of two societies with liberal tendency, the International Human Rights Law Society and Woori Law Society,” said PPP spokesperson Yang Kum-hee.

“If candidates from the two societies are picked this time, members from particular societies will form a majority on the court for the first time in our constitutional history.”

BY OH HYO-JEONG, LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]