President Lee Jae Myung is deliberating over Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae's written nomination of Supreme Court justice candidates as the ruling Democratic Party of Korea continues to intensify its attacks on Jo. The possibility of the president passing the matter to the National Assembly has also been raised.
A Cheong Wa Dae official said Thursday that no decision had been made on whether to forward the confirmation requests to the National Assembly. "Nothing has been decided. Nothing has been discussed yet," the official said, declining to elaborate on the presidential office's position on the written nomination.
On Tuesday, Jo nominated Son Bong-gi, a senior judge at the Daegu District Court, as the successor to former Justice Noh Tae-ak, and Kim Seong-su, a senior judge at the Seoul High Court, as the successor to Justice Lee Heung-gu, who is set to retire in September. Convention calls for the president and chief justice to exchange views in person before the chief justice formally submits a nomination, but Jo bypassed a visit to Cheong Wa Dae and submitted the nominations in writing.
The break with convention has generated palpable displeasure inside Cheong Wa Dae, though the presidential office has stopped short of issuing any direct response or statement. The restraint reflects a deliberate low-key strategy aimed at avoiding the fallout that would come from an open confrontation with the judiciary.
The question now is how to respond. Some have raised the possibility that President Lee may decline to forward the confirmation requests to the National Assembly, but analysts say he is unlikely to shoulder that political burden at a time when the Supreme Court vacancy has already dragged on. Withholding the requests could itself be read as a rejection of the judiciary's nominations.
For the same reason, invoking the president's appointment authority to reject both nominees outright and restart the nomination process also carries significant risk. With the vacancy already stretching five months, a further delay could fuel public criticism.
Selective confirmation has also been mentioned in some quarters — forwarding a confirmation request only for Kim, whose nomination was coordinated with Cheong Wa Dae in advance. Even so, that option would leave one seat vacant, keeping the shortage of justices unresolved.
Against that backdrop, analysts increasingly expect the president to ultimately pass the matter to the National Assembly, where the Democratic Party holds a majority. Kim Min-seok, the newly elected Democratic Party leader, sharpened his criticism of Jo's written nomination on Wednesday, saying that "under the principle of harmony among the three branches of government, the chief justice's nomination of Supreme Court justices has historically been made in consultation with the president. Carrying out this lawless judicial act without doing so is judicial manipulation." The remarks reinforce the view that the party, rather than Cheong Wa Dae, will take the lead in pressing the issue.
moone@heraldcorp.com
