Moon Hyung-bae, Constitutional Court Justice, Elected as Acting President of the Constitutional Court

Lee Jong-seok, former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (age 63, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 15), retired on the 17th upon the expiration of his term, and Moon Hyung-bae, Justice of the Constitutional Court (age 58, class 18), was elected as the Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, filling the vacancy.

The Constitutional Court announced on the afternoon of the 24th that, pursuant to Article 12, Paragraph 4 of the Constitutional Court Act and the "Regulations on the Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court," a meeting of the Justices was held and Justice Moon was elected as the Acting Chief Justice.

Constitutional Court Justice Moon Hyung-bae answering questions at the confirmation hearing for Constitutional Court Justice candidates in April 2019. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Article 12, Paragraph 4 of the Constitutional Court Act (Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court) states, "When the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court is vacant or unable to perform duties due to unavoidable reasons, another Justice shall act on behalf of the Chief Justice in the order prescribed by the Constitutional Court Rules."

Furthermore, Article 2 (Acting in Case of Temporary Incapacity) of the Regulations on the Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court stipulates, "When the Chief Justice is temporarily unable to perform duties due to an accident, one of the Justices of the Constitutional Court shall act on behalf of the Chief Justice in the order of appointment date. However, if the appointment dates are the same, the elder shall act."

Justice Moon is the most senior among the current Justices based on appointment date and age.

Also, Article 3, Paragraph 1 (Acting in Case of Vacancy, etc.) of the same regulations states, "When the Chief Justice is vacant or unable to perform duties for more than one month due to an accident, a Justice elected by the meeting of Justices shall act on behalf of the Chief Justice."

Justice Moon is from Hadong, Gyeongnam, graduated from Seoul National University Law School, and began his judicial career in 1992 as a judge at the Busan District Court. He later served as the head of the Jinju branch of the Changwon District Court, president of the Busan Family Court, and senior presiding judge of the Busan High Court. He was appointed as a Justice of the Constitutional Court in April 2019, nominated by former President Moon Jae-in.

He will lead the Constitutional Court until a new Chief Justice is appointed.

Earlier, with the retirement of Chief Justice Lee Jong-seok and Justices Lee Young-jin and Kim Ki-young on the same day, only six of the nine Constitutional Court Justices remain.

Article 23, Paragraph 1 of the Constitutional Court Act (Quorum for Deliberation) states, "The bench shall deliberate on cases with the attendance of seven or more Justices," setting the minimum number of Justices required for deliberation at seven, raising concerns that the Constitutional Court might become paralyzed.

However, on the 14th, the Constitutional Court accepted a provisional injunction request filed by Broadcasting and Communications Commission Chair Lee Jin-sook, who asked to suspend the effect of the relevant provision until the conclusion of the constitutional complaint case she filed, opening the way for the Court to deliberate on major cases.

Nonetheless, decisions such as declaring a law unconstitutional, impeachment rulings, political party dissolution rulings, acceptance decisions on constitutional complaints, and changes to previous Constitutional Court views require the approval of six or more Justices, effectively necessitating unanimous consent among the Justices involved in the deliberation.

The Constitutional Court plans to hold the first hearing on the impeachment trial of Chair Lee on the 12th of next month and also plans to hold a public hearing on the jurisdictional dispute case between the National Election Commission and the Board of Audit and Inspection on December 10.

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