Home > National > Politics

Major parties clash over prime minister’s authority to appoint Constitutional Court justices

Published: 17 Dec. 2024, 10:54

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Conservative People Power Party floor leader Kweon Seong-dong speaks during an internal meeting held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Dec. 17. [YONHAP]

The conservative People Power Party (PPP) and the liberal Democratic Party (DP) are in a heated dispute over the prime minister's authority to appoint justices to the Constitutional Court, which will rule on the validity of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment.

At a PPP meeting on Tuesday, floor leader Kweon Seong-dong said that Prime Minister Han Duck-soo cannot appoint Constitutional Court justices because the president's seat is not vacant.

“If the president’s position is vacant, the acting president can appoint justices. However, in the case of a suspension, it is not possible,” Kweon said.

Kweon said that Han cannot make appointments until the court rules on Yoon’s impeachment, asserting that Yoon’s suspension does not equate to a vacancy.

The remarks appear to be aimed at blocking a DP attempt to quickly nominate three justices to the Constitutional Court before a ruling on Yoon’s impeachment.

The court, currently composed of six justices, requires at least seven justices to review impeachment cases and six to uphold a parliamentary impeachment. Three of the nine seats are recommended by parliament.

In response, DP floor leader Park Chan-dae said during the party’s floor leadership meeting on Tuesday that it is "righteous" for the Constitutional Court to have nine justices to ensure fairness and credibility in the impeachment process.

Park said the DP will swiftly nominate and undergo the naming process of three Constitutional Court justices, criticizing Kweon’s statement as a "ridiculous claim intended to delay the ruling."

Kweon said that the National Assembly, as a constitutional body, should carefully exercise its authority in appointing justices. He pointed to a 2017 case when then-acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn appointed Constitutional Court Justice Lee Seon-ae after the court upheld the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. Kweon also said that the DP had previously criticized Hwang’s appointment as a violation of democratic principles.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]