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Don’t paralyze the court for political gains

Published: 15 Oct. 2024, 20:09

The Constitutional Court was saved from the brink of dysfunction caused by legislative dilly-dallying over naming the replacements for the outgoing three justices of the nine-member bench. Chief Justice Lee Jong-seok and two other justices will be completing their six-year term on Oct. 17. Because their leave without designated replacements can bring a halt to normal court procedures as the law requires at least seven justices for any deliberation, the court hurriedly endorsed the stay on the provisional clause requested by Korea Communications Commission (KCC) head Lee Jin-sook whose return to work hinges on the court’s deliberation on the legislative impeachment motion.

Given the extraordinary circumstance, the court decided to relax the provision requiring a minimum of seven members to deliberate a case if vacancies arise from the hiatus in replacements after term maturity. Lee has been on suspension since August after the opposition-led legislature passed a motion to impeach her. It is unknown when she can return to her duties as the divisive legislature has not even begun to screen candidates.

The worst has been avoided, but the threat to civilian rights persists. It is uncertain when the three seats will be filled. The last time the Constitutional Court was in such limbo due to a political impasse was in 2018, when court procedures were stopped for nearly a month.

The National Assembly is harming democracy by interrupting the Constitutional Court’s operation because of partisanship. In the ruling accepting Lee’s injunction request, the court pointed out that the repeated hiatus in justice seats despite the obvious retirement dates is a serious issue. The legislature must hasten with the appointments as not to further delay justice.

The court was founded in accordance with the 1987 Constitutional amendment. It is responsible for safeguarding the Constitutional order and the basic rights of the people. The court also decides whether legislative motions to impeach senior government officials are valid. According to the separation of three powers, the president, the Supreme Court chief justice and the National Assembly each appoint three justices. The outgoing seats must be filled by the legislature, but it has failed to agree even on the guidelines for recommendations. The governing People Power Party (PPP) demands that it and the Democratic Party (DP) each name one candidate and choose a third upon agreement according to the tradition. But the DP commanding the majority wants to name two justices. Some accuse the DP of intentionally halting the Constitutional Court for political motives. Lee of the KCC and prosecutor Song Jun-sung are awaiting the court’s deliberation on DP-led impeachment motions. The DP must prove it doesn’t have ulterior motives. If the party wants to dispel the conspiracy theory, it must start dialogue with the PPP.