Candidate for Chief Justice Lee Jong-seok: "The Chief Justice's Term Is Very Short... Admits to Fictitious Address Registration"

Regarding Reappointment, "Will Clearly State Position When Such a Situation Arises"

Lee Jong-seok, the nominee for Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, stated regarding the issue of his term, which has just over a year remaining, that "a term of 10 or 11 months for the Chief Justice is very short." However, he refrained from commenting on whether he would seek reappointment.

Lee Jong-seok, nominee for Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, is responding at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 13th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the parliamentary confirmation hearing on the 13th, in response to a question from independent lawmaker Yang Jeong-suk, Lee said, "When I attend foreign meetings, I often hear that the terms of our country's justices are excessively short. It is hard to find a country other than the Republic of Korea where the term is six years."

The term for a Constitutional Court justice is six years and is renewable. Lee was appointed as a justice on October 17, 2018, and even if he is appointed as Chief Justice with the National Assembly's consent, his term will end on October 17 next year.

Regarding the possibility of reappointment, Lee responded, "If such a situation arises, I will clearly state my position."

Additionally, Lee acknowledged and apologized for having committed false address registration in the past. When Kim Yong-min of the Democratic Party asked, "If the candidate's case had been assigned to a criminal trial, would a guilty verdict have been issued?" Lee answered, "Yes."

Lee explained, "However, the Hanyang Apartment is located next to the Seocho-dong courthouse. At the time, it was the oldest apartment and was purchased because the market price was low. After living there for 20 years, due to reconstruction, I gained the current capital gains."

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