New Supreme Court Justice Nominees: Bong Wook, Former Deputy Chief Prosecutor; Cheon Daeyeop, Senior Deputy Chief Judge of Seoul High Court; Son Bonggi, Former Chief Judge of Daegu District Court

From the left, Bong Wook, former Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Cheon Dae-yeop, Senior Deputy Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court, Son Bong-gi, former Chief Judge of the Daegu District Court.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Three candidates have been recommended as successors to Supreme Court Justice Park Sang-ok, who will retire this May: Bong Wook, former Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (age 55, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 19), Cheon Dae-yeop, Senior Presiding Judge of the Seoul High Court (age 57, class 21), and Son Bong-gi, former Chief Judge of the Daegu District Court (age 55, class 22).

The Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee (Chair Kim Hye-sook) held a meeting at 2 p.m. on the 22nd in the Supreme Court conference room and selected these three from among 15 candidates recommended by public nomination as the final candidates to be proposed, and recommended them to Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo.

At the meeting, all committee members including Chair Kim attended and conducted a review of the suitability of the nominees recommended from both inside and outside the judiciary for the position of Supreme Court Justice.

For a substantive review, before the committee meeting began, the Supreme Court disclosed the list of candidates who agreed to the review among those nominated, along with each candidate's educational background, major career history, military service, financial status, and criminal record, and presented the results of broad opinion gathering on the candidates' suitability as Supreme Court Justices to the committee.

Based on each candidate's recommendation letters and opinion statements, as well as various review materials concerning their major rulings, work records, financial status, criminal records, and military service, the committee thoroughly examined the candidates' qualifications, abilities, and morality as Supreme Court Justices, and reflected diverse opinions collected from various sectors of society to select these three as candidates for Supreme Court Justice nomination. After concluding the meeting, Chair Kim submitted the list of the three candidates to Chief Justice Kim in writing.

Chair Kim stated, “In a time when conflict and polarization are pressing issues, we recommended candidates who not only possess the ability and qualifications to contribute to fulfilling the constitutional duties of the Supreme Court as the highest court that respects the value of diversity and upholds the democratic value of separation of powers, but also demonstrate ethics and insight that prioritize the protection of citizens' fundamental rights and interests.”

Chief Justice Kim plans to disclose the major rulings or work records of these nominated candidates and collect various opinions from inside and outside the judiciary on their suitability as Supreme Court Justices from the 23rd to the 29th, after which he will recommend one new Supreme Court Justice candidate to President Moon Jae-in for appointment.

Bong, originally from Seoul, graduated from Yeouido High School and passed the 29th Judicial Examination while attending Seoul National University Law School. Starting as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office in 1993, he served as ▲ Head of the Advanced Crime Investigation Division at the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office ▲ Head of the Finance and Tax Investigation Division 1 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office ▲ Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs at the Blue House ▲ Chief of the Jecheon, Yeoju, and Busan Eastern District Prosecutors' Offices ▲ Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office ▲ Director of the Human Rights Bureau at the Ministry of Justice ▲ Director of Planning and Coordination ▲ Director of the Legal Affairs Office ▲ Chief Prosecutor at the Ulsan and Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Offices ▲ Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office ▲ Acting Prosecutor General. After opening a law practice in 2019, he has also served as a Compliance Committee member at Samsung Electronics since last year.

Cheon, originally from Busan, graduated from Seongdong High School and Seoul National University Law School and passed the 31st Judicial Examination. Beginning as a judge at the Seoul Eastern District Court in 1995, he served as ▲ Judge at the Seoul District Court ▲ Judge at the Busan High Court ▲ Judicial Researcher at the Supreme Court ▲ Judge at the Seoul Eastern District Court ▲ Judge at the Busan District Court ▲ Presiding Judge at the Seoul Central District Court ▲ Presiding Judge at the Seoul High Court, and currently serves as Senior Presiding Judge at the Seoul High Court.

Son, originally from Daegu, graduated from Dalseong High School and Korea University Law School and passed the 32nd Judicial Examination. Starting as a judge at the Daegu District Court in 1996, he served as ▲ Judge at the Andong Branch of the Daegu District Court ▲ Judge at the Daegu High Court ▲ Judicial Researcher at the Supreme Court ▲ Chief of the Sangju Branch of the Daegu District Court ▲ Professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute ▲ Presiding Judge at the Daegu District Court ▲ Senior Presiding Judge at the Ulsan District Court ▲ Chief Judge of the Daegu District Court, and currently works as a Presiding Judge at the Daegu District Court.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.