Cho Hee-dae, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, has stated that he will provide an official stance regarding the request for a re-nomination of Supreme Court justice candidates after internal discussions.
On September 3, while arriving at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Cho told reporters, "I have not discussed this matter at all due to work commitments," adding, "I will listen to the discussions and provide an official statement."
When asked if he plans to reconstitute the Supreme Court Justice Recommendation Committee, he remained non-committal, saying, "I will listen to the discussions and then speak on it."
Cho had been absent from work until the day before due to the sudden passing of his father. He expressed gratitude to those who offered condolences, stating, "I deeply appreciate everyone who has sent their sympathies regarding my father's passing. We intended to hold a modest ceremony, but it has become quite public, and I apologize to the citizens for that."
Previously, on August 28, the Blue House requested that Cho re-nominate a different candidate for the Supreme Court justice position, stating that the nomination of Son Bong-ki lacked procedural completeness.
At that time, Cho expressed regret for causing concern among the public, saying, "I am reviewing the matter, and I will inform you officially once it is organized, likely next week."
With Cho returning to work, the Supreme Court is expected to consider both the option of reconstituting the recommendation committee to restart the nomination process and the possibility of nominating a different candidate from the existing list, as requested by the Blue House.
Current law mandates that the Chief Justice must form a recommendation committee each time a Supreme Court justice candidate is nominated, leading legal experts to predict that Cho will likely opt to reconstitute the committee.
If Cho decides to form a new committee, the process of re-nominating candidates and going through the National Assembly's confirmation hearings could take considerable time, potentially leading to unavoidable conflicts with the Blue House. In July 2012, when then-nominee Kim Byeong-hwa resigned amid various allegations, the Supreme Court reconstituted the committee, and the nomination process took about three months to pass through the National Assembly.
Conversely, there is also a possibility that the Blue House may reject the nominated candidates and request re-nominations from the remaining three candidates (Kim Min-ki, Park Soon-young, and Yoon Seong-sik). However, this could lead to criticism that the Blue House is infringing on the Chief Justice's nomination authority, as they could continue to request re-nominations until a candidate of their choice is nominated.
Since the retirement of former Justice Roh Tae-ack in March, the Supreme Court has been without a replacement for nearly six months. Current Justice Lee Heung-gu is also set to retire on September 7, leaving two positions vacant.
An agreement has been reached regarding the nomination of Kim Sung-soo as Lee's successor, and President Yoon Suk-yeol submitted the nomination for Kim to the National Assembly on September 1.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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