Growing Calls for Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo's Accountability Amid Repeated Early Voting Mismanagement Controversies

Breaking Precedent, Forcing No Jeong-hee's Appointment

The regular meeting of the Judicial Administration Advisory Council was held on the 8th at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, with Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su presiding over the meeting.
Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The fallout from the poor management of early voting is leading to calls for accountability from Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo.

On September 25, 2020, Chief Justice Kim appointed then-Justice Noh Jeong-hee as the Chairperson of the National Election Commission. Traditionally, the chairpersonship is entrusted to the most senior justice with ample time left in their term, but Chief Justice Kim broke this convention. At the time, there were seven justices senior to Justice Noh. The Supreme Court explained this by saying, "Justice Noh is the most suitable candidate due to her outstanding work ability," but suspicions only grew. Concerns were raised that Justice Noh was effectively a close aide of Chief Justice Kim and received preferential treatment in personnel appointments. There were also criticisms that her qualifications and capabilities as the election commission chairperson were not properly verified or demonstrated. This issue was soon obscured by being packaged as the ‘birth of the first female Chairperson of the National Election Commission.’

After Justice Noh officially began her duties as chairperson, controversies over ‘political bias’ arose. On July 16, 2020, as a member of the Supreme Court’s full bench, she was part of the majority opinion acquitting Lee Jae-myung, then Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who was charged with violating the Public Official Election Act by spreading false information, which also drew public attention. The election commission under her leadership was repeatedly suspected of lacking political neutrality. Former standing commissioner Cho Hae-joo, who worked as a special advisor for President Moon Jae-in’s presidential campaign, tendered his resignation on January 24, but President Moon rejected it citing organizational stability and the imminent election. There has also been much debate over the relaxed standards for presidential election banners and placards within a year. During the April 7, 2021 by-elections, the election commission prohibited phrases such as ‘Why hold a by-election?’ and ‘Voting defeats hypocrisy,’ citing that they evoked specific political parties, but for this presidential election, they announced a policy to mostly allow banners without real names or photos. The conservative opposition criticizes this, saying, "The standards are being adjusted to favor the ruling party."

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