Supreme Court and Constitutional Court, Challenges Beyond the 'Complete Form'

President Yoon to Soon Nominate Supreme Court Chief Justice Candidate... Dual Leadership Vacancies in Judiciary
Likely to Name Successor to Chief Justice Yoon Nam-seok After Constitutional Court Chief Hearing on 13th

President Yoon Suk-yeol is scheduled to nominate a new Supreme Court Chief Justice candidate this week, but with the term of Yoo Nam-seok, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, ending on the 10th of this month, an unprecedented situation will arise where both heads of the judiciary will be vacant. The confirmation hearing for Lee Jong-seok, the candidate for Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, will be held on the 13th of this month.

Supreme Court building.

On the 6th, legal circles inside and outside the judiciary predicted that the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court would be fully staffed no earlier than around February next year. The Supreme Court is complete when all 14 justices, including the Chief Justice, are appointed, and the Constitutional Court is complete when all nine justices, including the Chief Justice, are appointed.

First, the Supreme Court has been without a Chief Justice for 43 days, and President Yoon is expected to nominate a candidate this week. Kim Hyung-doo, Constitutional Court Justice (58, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 19), is a leading candidate, while former Supreme Court Justice Cho Hee-dae (66, class 13) and Professor Jeong Young-hwan of Korea University Law School (63, class 15) are also being considered. Oh Seok-jun, a Supreme Court Justice (61, class 19) who was considered a strong candidate, is reportedly disadvantaged due to his rulings favoring workers in cases similar to the contentious Yellow Envelope Act, which is led by the opposition party, after his appointment as a justice.

If Justice Kim is nominated as the new Chief Justice, passes the National Assembly's review and consent, and becomes Chief Justice, it will be the first time in constitutional history that a Chief Justice comes from the Constitutional Court. Justice Kim served as Deputy Chief of the Court Administration Office under Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo and held key positions in the judiciary during the previous administration. He was nominated as a Constitutional Court Justice in March this year, filling the seat previously held by former Chief Justice Kim. Among the nine Constitutional Court Justices, three are appointed by the President upon nomination by the Chief Justice.

Justice Kim's strength lies in having passed the confirmation hearing with bipartisan approval during his appointment process. Since becoming a justice, he has issued rulings with a moderate to conservative inclination, aligning with the current administration's stance. However, criticism from the court's labor union toward Justice Kim is expected to be a burden. Previously, the court labor union criticized him when he was nominated as a Constitutional Court Justice, accusing him of "authoritarian and arbitrary judicial administration and discrimination and disregard toward court officials" during his tenure at the Court Administration Office.

The problem is that the earliest the new Chief Justice candidate can pass the confirmation hearing and the National Assembly plenary session is around mid-next month. The Chief Justice must recommend successors for Supreme Court Justices Ahn Cheol-sang and Min Yoo-sook, who retire on January 1 next year. The process of nominating and recommending candidates for justices and the Chief Justice's appointment and recommendation is expected to take at least three months, so it will take considerable time before the Supreme Court operates normally.

Chief Justice Yun Nam-seok of the Constitutional Court and the Constitutional Court Justices are seated in the afternoon at the Grand Bench of the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, for the verdict announcement. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The situation at the Constitutional Court is also difficult. From the 10th, the Constitutional Court will operate under an acting Chief Justice system. The most senior justice, Lee Eun-ae (57, class 19), is expected to serve as acting Chief Justice. Apart from the Chief Justice vacancy, the vacancy among justices must also be resolved. President Yoon has not yet nominated a successor justice to Chief Justice Yoo. After Lee's confirmation hearing, a new justice is expected to be nominated, with the confirmation hearing likely to be held next month.

If Justice Kim is nominated as the Chief Justice candidate, two justice seats will become vacant, making normal case hearings virtually impossible. While President Yoon nominates Yoo's successor justice, the successor to Justice Kim is the Chief Justice's prerogative. Therefore, if Justice Kim becomes the Chief Justice candidate, his seat will remain vacant until he is appointed Chief Justice.

According to the Constitutional Court Act, hearings can proceed if at least seven justices are present. However, decisions on unconstitutionality, impeachment, and acceptance of constitutional complaints require the approval of at least six justices. With two vacancies, the seven-member panel will inevitably face limitations in hearings and rulings, according to consensus in legal circles. Consequently, cases with divided opinions among justices or those with significant social impact, such as the death penalty, are likely to experience delays in hearings.

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