National Assembly nominates three Constitutional Court candidates amid PPP boycott

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National Assembly nominates three Constitutional Court candidates amid PPP boycott

Published: 26 Dec. 2024, 15:41 Updated: 26 Dec. 2024, 19:18

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The nominations of Ma Eun-hyuk, Jeong Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang are passed by the National Assembly on Dec. 26. [YONHAP]

The National Assembly officially nominated three candidates for the Constitutional Court on Thursday.

The nominations were passed by the liberal Democratic Party (DP) and its allies, which collectively control 192 seats in the 300-member legislature.

The nominations of Seoul Western District Court judges Ma Eun-hyeok and Jeong Gye-son, who were picked by the DP, both passed with 193 votes from 195 lawmakers present.

The nomination of former judge and current attorney Jo Han-chang, who was recommended by the conservative People Power Party (PPP), passed with 185 votes in support.

Voting on the nominations was boycotted by the PPP, which has argued that only the elected president can appoint justices to the Constitutional Court.

The three nominations are intended to fill vacant seats on the nine-member Constitutional Court reserved for candidates forwarded by the National Assembly.

The three seats have been vacant since Oct. 17, when the terms of the previous parliamentary appointees expired.

As an impeachment motion requires the support of six justices to be upheld, all of the court's current six members would have to support Yoon's impeachment to remove him from office.

The DP submitted an impeachment motion against acting President Han Duck-soo after he announced earlier in the day that he would not appoint the nominees without a consensus between the DP and PPP.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]