▲ The Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on August 30, as the court is expected to soon release its stance on the presidential office's rejection of written nominations for Supreme Court justice candidates
A group of 27 legal professionals from the Seoul National University College of Law Class of 1976 criticized President Lee Jae-myung's demand for the re-nomination of Supreme Court justice candidates in a joint statement issued today (September 3).
In the statement, they pointed out, "It is unjustified that the president did not submit the motion for appointment consent for the Supreme Court justice candidates legitimately nominated by the Chief Justice to the National Assembly and instead demanded the re-nomination of other candidates."
They continued, "The president's appointment power is an authority exercised over the person nominated by the Chief Justice," criticizing that "if the president favors a specific candidate and rejects others until that person is nominated, this effectively means the president monopolizes both the nomination and appointment powers."
Furthermore, they emphasized, "Judicial reform is necessary and the diversity of the Supreme Court's composition should be expanded, but judicial reform and seizing control of the judiciary are different," adding, "True reform is checking the judiciary so that a specific president or political party cannot arbitrarily dominate it."
They also urged, "The president should respect the Chief Justice's nomination power and stop forcing re-nominations without constitutional basis, and the Democratic Party should stop legislative attempts that retroactively justify the president's refusal to nominate or substantially reduce the Chief Justice's nomination power."
They also demanded of Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, "Do not waver under any political pressure, and resolutely protect the Chief Justice's nomination power and the independence of the judiciary granted by the Constitution."
The signatories include former Korean Bar Association President Kim Hyun, former Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Cho Dae-hwan, former Grand National Party lawmaker Shim Kyu-chul, and former National Human Rights Commission Standing Commissioner Lee Choong-sang.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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