National Assembly Adopts Constitutional Court Chief Justice Review Report... Will the Vacancy Crisis of the Two Top Judicial Heads End?

Hunjeso Jang Incheongteukwi, Review Report Adopted
Daebeobwonjang Incheongteukwi, Next Month Incheong Plan Adopted

The report on the review process of the appointment consent bill for Lee Jong-seok, the nominee for Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, passed the Personnel Hearing Special Committee on the 28th. With the personnel hearing schedule for Cho Hee-dae, the nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, also set, attention is focused on whether the unprecedented dual leadership vacancies in the judiciary will be resolved.

The National Assembly's Personnel Hearing Special Committee for the Constitutional Court Chief Justice nominee held a plenary session that day and adopted the review process report on Lee's appointment consent bill without dissent. It is expected that Lee's appointment consent bill will be processed at the plenary session on the 30th. Although the ruling and opposition parties are engaged in a tug-of-war over holding plenary sessions on the 30th and the 1st of next month, there is no disagreement about holding the plenary session on the 30th to process Lee's appointment consent bill along with the accumulated bills.

Lee Jong-seok, Nominee for Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Accordingly, the vacancy in the Constitutional Court Chief Justice position, which has existed since the retirement of former Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok on the 10th, is expected to be resolved within this week.

The Personnel Hearing Special Committee for nominee Cho decided to hold the hearing over two days on the 5th and 6th of next month by approving the hearing implementation plan. Since former Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo retired on September 22, the Supreme Court has been without a head for over two months. Previously, former nominee Lee Gyun-yong underwent a National Assembly personnel hearing, but his appointment consent bill was rejected in the plenary session (118 votes for, 175 against, 2 abstentions) due to allegations related to his assets, resulting in his withdrawal. President Yoon Seok-yeol nominated Cho, known as a conservative principled figure, as the new nominee 33 days after Lee's appointment consent bill was rejected by the National Assembly.

Cho Hee-dae, nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, is answering reporters' questions on the 15th as he arrives for his first day at the candidate hearing preparation office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

There is also significant concern within the opposition party about repeatedly rejecting Supreme Court Chief Justice nominees. Jin Sung-jun, the Democratic Party's secretary for the Personnel Hearing Special Committee for nominee Cho, said, "So far, no personal issues have emerged," adding, "He previously underwent a personnel hearing when he became a Supreme Court Justice, and during his tenure, he appears to have maintained strict self-management." He continued, "There is nothing else yet, but we plan to observe further to see if anything arises."

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