"Presidential office is infringing on the chief justice's constitutional right to recommend"

"Candidates' qualifications should be vetted by the National Assembly"

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun said Friday that the Constitution prohibits "shopping for only the Supreme Court justices that suit one's taste."

In a Facebook post that day, Yoon said the presidential office had announced it would not submit to the National Assembly a confirmation motion for Son Bong-gi — one of two Supreme Court justice candidates recommended by Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae — and had further demanded that Jo submit a new recommendation in Son's place. "This amounts to shopping for Supreme Court justices according to the whims of those in power," Yoon said, calling it "an unprecedented move that risks seriously undermining judicial independence and the principle of separation of powers."

He added that since the launch of the 1987 constitutional order, no president has refused to advance a Supreme Court justice candidate recommended by the chief justice and demanded a new nomination.

Article 104, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution states that Supreme Court justices are appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the chief justice and with the consent of the National Assembly.

Yoon argued that "the constitutional procedure — recommendation by the chief justice, consent of the National Assembly, and appointment by the president — is clear," adding that a president demanding "bring someone else" simply because a particular candidate is not to his liking "goes beyond a judgment about the appointment process and in effect infringes on the right of recommendation that the Constitution has granted to the chief justice."

He also said neither the Constitution nor the Court Organization Act requires the chief justice to consult with the president before recommending a candidate. "Even if there has been a practice of consultation, a practice cannot stand above the Constitution," he said.

Yoon added that "even the power of the majority must be exercised within the limits set by the Constitution, and the courts are constitutional institutions designed to be independent from political power precisely in order to uphold those limits." He warned that pushing this logic to its conclusion leads to "the dangerous conclusion that unelected judges must follow the will of elected power."

Yoon called on the presidential office to immediately submit the confirmation motion for Son to the National Assembly, saying "the candidate's qualifications and fitness can be rigorously examined through the National Assembly's confirmation hearing and consent procedures." He added that if the presidential office moves to exclude a candidate before the Assembly's vetting process has even begun, "it is also disregarding the National Assembly's right of consent."


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