Supreme Court says acting president has authority to approve justices

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Supreme Court says acting president has authority to approve justices

Published: 25 Dec. 2024, 17:09 Updated: 26 Dec. 2024, 14:58

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Acting President Han Duck-soo attends an event at his residence in central Seoul on Dec. 24. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The Supreme Court said that appointments of new justices by acting President Han Duck-soo would not violate the Constitution, seemingly greenlighting him to exercise his authority to approve judicial posts.

According to the office of Rep. Back Hye-ryun from the liberal Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday, the top court said Han’s appointment of Supreme Court justices was unlikely to harm the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches enshrined in the Constitution.

“Although the president appoints Supreme Court justices, they must be initially recommended by the chief justice and approved by the parliament,” the top court said, noting the judiciary and legislature have administrative mechanisms to check presidential power.

The court was responding to an inquiry from Back, who asked whether the acting president could appoint justices approved by the parliament.

With incumbent Supreme Court Justice Kim Sang-hwan set to retire on Friday, Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae recommended Ma Yong-joo, a Seoul High Court senior judge, as Kim’s successor last month.

The court noted that the chief justice’s recommendation and President Yoon Suk Yeol’s acceptance of the request preceded his impeachment.

Per a detailed timeline provided by the top court, Chief Justice Cho recommended Ma as a Supreme Court justice candidate on Nov. 26. On Dec. 12, Yoon asked the parliament to conduct a confirmation hearing before the passage of his impeachment motion — which came two days later.

“It appears that the acting president's appointment of a Supreme Court justice would not harm the Constitution when the presidential acceptance of the recommendation and the request for a hearing came before the passage of the impeachment motion, and when the National Assembly agreed to the appointment after the impeachment,” the top court said.

The Supreme Court said that a judicial vacuum created by postponing the appointment could delay legal proceedings, warning that people could be harmed by the delay and face protracted legal disputes.

The confirmation hearing session for Supreme Court Justice candidate Ma will be convened at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Thursday.

The statement from the top court suggests that Han would not violate the Constitution even if he appoints justices to the Constitutional Court, which is critical to Yoon’s impeachment case.

Only six of the nine seats of the Constitutional Court bench are occupied. As at least six constitutional justices should approve Yoon’s impeachment, the opposition parties are striving to fill up vacant seats and pressuring Han to appoint candidates they suggested.

All three candidates for the Constitutional Court — Jeong Gye-son and Ma Eun-hyeok, recommended by the opposition DP, and Jo Han-chang, recommended by the ruling People Power Party — said they agreed that the acting president could appoint them on behalf of Yoon during their confirmation hearings held earlier this week. The National Assembly will likely vote on their appointments during a plenary session on Thursday.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]