Chief Justice Cho Hee-대 Rejects Cheong Wa Dae's Request for Re-recommendation of Supreme Court Justice Candidate 25 Days Later

▲ Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae arrives at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu on September 22.

Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae stated today (September 22) that he cannot comply with Cheong Wa Dae's request to re-recommend a candidate for Supreme Court justice.

Through a press announcement, Chief Justice Cho stated, "An official act of the President under the state law shall be executed via a document countersigned by the Prime Minister and the relevant State Council member." He added, "Regarding this request for re-recommendation, the only existing document is the 'Request for Re-recommendation of Supreme Court Justice Candidate' dated August 28, which does not state the specific reasons or constitutional basis for requesting the re-recommendation."

He continued, "We cannot find any other specific constitutional basis or reasons to justify the request for re-recommendation," adding, "We hereby state that we cannot comply with the request for re-recommendation."

This stance from Chief Justice Cho comes 25 days after Cheong Wa Dae effectively rejected Chief Justice Cho's written recommendation of candidate Son Bong-ki and requested a re-recommendation on August 28 of last month.

Chief Justice Cho met with President Lee Jae-myung by attending the appointment ceremony for newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Kim Sung-soo held at Cheong Wa Dae yesterday, and President Lee departed on an overseas trip the same day.

As Chief Justice Cho released a statement directly refuting Cheong Wa Dae on this day, the conflict surrounding the recommendation of Supreme Court justices appears to be escalating into a full-scale clash between the two sides.

The conflict over the recommendation of Supreme Court justices has persisted since January 21, when the Candidate Recommendation Committee recommended four candidates to succeed former Supreme Court Justice Roh Tae-ak: Seoul High Court Judges Kim Min-ki and Park Soon-young, Seoul High Court Senior Judge Yoon Sung-sik, and Daegu District Court Senior Judge Son Bong-ki.

It has been customary for Cheong Wa Dae and the judiciary to reach a behind-the-scenes agreement before the Chief Justice makes the final recommendation, but they failed to find common ground on a suitable candidate.

As the vacancy in the Supreme Court prolonged, Chief Justice Cho ultimately broke tradition on August 18 of last month to officially recommend Senior Judge Son Bong-ki, on whom an agreement had not been reached.

Ten days later, on August 28 of last month, Cheong Wa Dae demanded that another candidate be re-recommended, criticizing it as a "one-sided written recommendation without substantive consultation."

While Cheong Wa Dae signaled its intent for a re-recommendation of one of the remaining candidates excluding Senior Judge Son from the four previously recommended candidates, insiders in the legal community projected that Chief Justice Cho would restart the process from the formation of the Candidate Recommendation Committee.

The seat for the successor to former Supreme Court Justice Roh Tae-ak has remained vacant for over 200 days.

With Chief Justice Cho announcing his refusal to comply with Cheong Wa Dae's request for re-recommendation on this day, the vacancy is expected to be prolonged even further.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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