Democrats Divided Again or United... Tension Over Vote on Lee Gyunyong's Appointment Approval

Democrats Lean Toward Rejecting Supreme Court Chief Justice Nominee Lee Gyunyong
Attention on Possible 'Defection' of Byeonggye Lawmakers

Will the appointment consent bill for nominee Lee Gyun-yong as Chief Justice be rejected? The political sphere is closely watching the plenary vote on the appointment consent bill for nominee Lee scheduled for the 6th. There is a prevailing view that it will not be easy for the appointment consent bill to pass the National Assembly, and the scale of opposing votes is drawing attention as a litmus test for the unified stance of the Democratic Party.

Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the policy coordination meeting on the 5th, "If the appointment consent for the Chief Justice is rejected, it is entirely the responsibility of President Yoon Seok-yeol, who recommended an unqualified person and failed in personnel verification," adding, "Please send a good candidate who meets the public's expectations, not a candidate who suits the president's taste. We will cooperate with the appointment process at any time." He thus expressed his intention to reject the appointment consent bill for nominee Lee.

However, an interesting point is that the policy to reject nominee Lee’s appointment consent bill has "not yet been adopted as the party’s official stance." Regarding this, Hong explained on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "The reason for proposing it as the party’s official stance is because the candidate is too unqualified," adding, "There is a need to firmly show the party’s position, so we suggested making it the party’s official stance." He continued, "Most think that even without making it the party’s official stance, it will likely be rejected, so there is no need to make it official." He also said, "When I asked the members at the party meeting if there were any opinions supporting qualification, no one expressed such an opinion," and "There was some disagreement about making it the party’s official stance."

Park Yong-jin, Democratic Party lawmaker and the party’s secretary for the nominee’s confirmation hearing, conveyed a similar atmosphere. Park said, "At the party meeting, without any political or strategic considerations, the judgment was solely based on the candidate’s qualifications, morality, and suitability as the head of the judiciary, and it was concluded that it was absolutely unacceptable," adding, "There is no need to make it the party’s official stance."

Lee Gyun-yong, nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, is delivering an opening statement at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the other hand, some offer a different perspective. Ha Tae-kyung, lawmaker of the People Power Party, predicted on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae’s Focus' the day before, "(The approval of nominee Lee’s appointment consent bill) seems to be very close." Ha said, "If the entire Democratic Party opposes it, the rejection margin would be quite large, but now it is like one house with two roofs," adding, "In fact, there are two parties: the 'Watermelon Party' (a derogatory term for non-Myeong faction members) and the 'Non-Watermelon Party' (a disparaging term for pro-Myeong faction members)." He pointed to the possibility of dissenting votes within the Democratic Party on nominee Lee’s appointment consent bill, similar to the approval of the arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung, which passed due to dissenting votes within the Democratic Party.

Previously, during the vote on the arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party did not adopt rejection as the party’s official stance but effectively set a rejection policy. This led to confusion when dissenting votes caused the resignation of the floor leadership, including former floor leader Park Kwang-on.

There is also a sense of caution within the Democratic Party. Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon, when asked about the confirmation vote on BBS Radio's 'Jeon Young-shin’s Morning Journal,' said, "The judgment should be based on whether this person (nominee Lee) can independently lead the judiciary without being influenced by the president. If he falls short of that standard, we must explain to the public why he falls short and reject the appointment in a way that the public can understand," adding, "Otherwise, given that the trial of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is ongoing, it could be misunderstood as an attempt to control the courts." He pointed out that if there is insufficient public consensus on rejecting nominee Lee’s appointment consent bill, the rejection could be perceived as having other motives.

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