Cho Hee-dae Proposes Appointment of New Supreme Court Justices

Cho Hee-dae, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, has proposed the appointments of Son Bong-ki (60) and Kim Seong-su (57) as new Supreme Court justices to President Lee Jae-myung. This move is expected to fill the vacancy that has persisted for over five months since the retirement of former Justice Noh Tae-ak in March.

On August 18, the Supreme Court announced that Cho had recommended Son, a presiding judge at the Daegu District Court, to succeed Noh, and Kim, a presiding judge at the Seoul High Court, to replace Justice Lee Heung-gu, whose term ends on September 7.

Cho explained that he respected the recommendations from the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee and considered their professional legal knowledge, ability to make rational and fair judgments, commitment to judicial independence, and protection of citizens' fundamental rights. He also took into account their dedication to protecting social minorities, their moral character, and the diversity of the Supreme Court's composition.

This proposal comes more than five months after Noh's retirement on March 3. The recommendation committee had suggested four candidates in January: Kim Min-ki, a judge at the Suwon High Court; Park Soon-young, a judge at the Seoul High Court; Son Bong-ki; and Yoon Seong-sik, a presiding judge at the Seoul High Court.

However, Cho did not immediately propose a successor, leading to concerns about delays in case processing due to the prolonged vacancy. Speculation arose regarding potential disagreements between the Blue House and the Supreme Court over the candidate selection, although it has not been officially confirmed whether there were actual differences.

Cho proceeded with the nomination process for the successor to Justice Lee, who is set to retire next month, before proposing both candidates simultaneously.

Son, nominated to succeed Noh, hails from Busan and graduated from Dalseong High School and Korea University Law School. He passed the 32nd Judicial Examination and was appointed as a judge at the Daegu District Court in 1996. He has held various positions, including a research judge at the Supreme Court, a professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, chief presiding judge at the Ulsan District Court, and president of the Daegu District Court.

Having spent most of his judicial career in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Ulsan, he was appointed president of the Daegu District Court through a recommendation system initiated during the tenure of former Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo in 2019. He also presided over the 'Sangju pesticide cider' case as a citizen participation trial and has been named as a candidate for Supreme Court justice and Constitutional Court justice multiple times since 2021.

Kim, nominated to succeed Justice Lee, is from Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do, and graduated from Gwangju Inseong High School and Hanyang University Law School. He passed the 34th Judicial Examination and began his judicial career as a judge at the Gwangju District Court in 1998.

He has served in various roles, including at the Haenam branch of the Gwangju District Court, the Seoul High Court, the Ethics Audit Officer and Ethics Audit Review Officer at the Court Administration Office, presiding judge at the Jeju District Court, chief presiding judge at the Cheongju District Court, and chief professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. He was recognized as an outstanding judge in evaluations by the Chungbuk Bar Association in 2018 and 2019.

Currently, he serves as the presiding judge of the 8th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court. In a recent appeal case related to a disturbance at the Seoul Western District Court, he pointed out that the collective invasion and violent acts against the court resulted in 'unconstitutional outcomes' that undermine the court's role and function, leading to a guilty verdict.

If both nominees are confirmed, they will be the first Supreme Court justices appointed under the administration of President Lee Jae-myung. According to Article 104, Section 2 of the Constitution, Supreme Court justices are appointed by the President with the consent of the National Assembly, following a recommendation from the Chief Justice. Once President Lee submits the appointment proposal to the National Assembly, the confirmation process will proceed through a hearing and a vote in the plenary session.