On August 21, the Blue House criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's written nomination of Judge Son Bong-ki as the successor to former Justice Roh Tae-ak, stating it was a "unilateral notification process that bypassed consultation and disrespected the president's appointment authority." The Blue House refuted claims from the Supreme Court that there had been prior discussions regarding the written nomination process, asserting, "There was no consultation whatsoever on the specific nomination method."
Seong Gi-hong, the Blue House's Chief of Public Communication, appeared on the YouTube channel OhmyTV and described the Chief Justice's recent appointment as "a pattern that deviates from existing practices, and we view it as a very serious situation," calling it "an unprecedented constitutional crisis."
He added, "Given that this situation is unprecedented, we are reviewing various precedents since 1987 and examining legal aspects to consider how to address this matter."
Regarding the Blue House's consideration of a "re-nomination" for Judge Son without following the appointment procedure, he stated, "This is a significant situation where unilateral notification has bypassed the consultation process, and we are contemplating such options."
In particular, he refuted recent claims made by Roh Kyung-pil, the head of the Supreme Court's Administrative Office, during a National Assembly Judiciary Committee meeting, where he stated that he had requested a meeting between the Chief Justice and the president but was unable to secure an opportunity, and that the written nomination method had been discussed with the Chief of Civil Affairs. Seong emphasized, "Neither of these claims is true."
Seong noted, "While there was a discussion about general matters regarding the nomination of justices, there was no consultation at all regarding the specific method of written nomination." He further clarified, "There was an inquiry from the Supreme Court asking if a meeting could occur if there was an agreement, to which we simply responded that we could discuss it then if there was an agreement. (Roh's claims) are not accurate."
Earlier, on August 18, Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae submitted a written nomination to President Lee Jae-myung for Judge Son Bong-ki of the Daegu District Court and Judge Kim Seong-soo of the Seoul High Court as candidates for Supreme Court justices.
According to sources within the ruling party, while the Supreme Court and the Blue House had completed discussions regarding Judge Kim Seong-soo, they had been at an impasse over the nomination for the successor to Justice Roh.
The Blue House initially considered Judge Kim Min-ki as the top candidate, but the Supreme Court expressed concerns about a potential conflict of interest due to his spouse being Oh Young-jun, a Constitutional Court justice appointed by the current administration.
In this context, on August 18, the Supreme Court indicated to the Civil Affairs Office that it would nominate both Judge Kim and Judge Son together, inquiring whether a meeting could be arranged if there was an agreement, to which the Blue House reportedly responded that they could meet then if there was an agreement.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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