Conservative judge Jo Hee-de nominated as new Supreme Court chief justice

Jo Hee-de

President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated Jo Hee-de, a former top court justice, as the new Supreme Court chief justice, the presidential office said Wednesday.

Jo, 66, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law School, served as a Supreme Court justice from 2014 to 2020, appointed by the Park Geun-hye administration.

He is a native of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang and a graduate of Seoul National University. He passed the National Judicial Examination in 1981 and has also served as a professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

Known as a conservative judge, Jo also served as Daegu District Court's chief judge and other benches nationwide for 27 years.

He is reportedly a conscientious judge known for reasonable and fair judgments. He earned the moniker "Mr. Minority Opinion" while on the liberal-dominated Supreme Court bench.

"As a judge, he has devoted his entire life to ensuring people's right to trial," said Kim Dae-ki, presidential chief of staff, in a briefing Wednesday. "He has taken the lead in protecting the rights of minorities and the socially underprivileged."

After retiring as a Supreme Court Justice, Kim said Jo has "focused on research and nurturing students as a professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law School."

This appointment comes amid a vacuum in the country's top court position following the National Assembly's rejection of Yoon's previous chief justice nominee, Lee Gyun-ryong, in late September. This marked the first such rejection in 35 years.

The liberal Democratic Party (DP) holds a majority in the National Assembly.

Lee, a conservative judge who has served as a senior justice at Seoul High Court, was criticized by the DP over allegations of underreporting family assets and for alleged personal connections to President Yoon, a former prosecutor and one year his junior at Seoul National University School of Law.

The preceding Supreme Court chief justice, Kim Myeong-su, retired in September. He had served a six-year term, holding the top justice position since September 2017 after being appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration.

During the weekslong vacancy in leadership, the top court was headed by Justice Ahn Cheol-sang, the most senior of the 13 justices on the bench.

The new appointment comes 33 days after the motion to appoint former nominee Lee was rejected.

Once nominated by the president, the chief justice candidate will undergo a parliamentary hearing and a vote at a National Assembly plenary session.

Yoon's new nomination to the top court post comes earlier than expected, taking into consideration this parliamentary process.

If appointed, Jo is not expected to be able to complete a six-year term in accordance with the retirement age of 70 for Supreme Court chief justices.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]