KOR
▲ Senior Secretary to the President for Public Relations Sung Kihong is briefing reporters on the appointment of the new Minister for Government Policy Coordination at the Cheong Wa Dae press room on July 10.
Cheong Wa Dae criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's "written recommendation" of Daegu District Court Senior Judge Son Bong-gi as the successor to former Supreme Court Justice Noh Tae-ak, defining it as "bypassing consultations and a unilateral notification procedure that does not respect the President's appointment power."
Cheong Wa Dae also directly refuted the National Court Administration's claim that prior consultations had taken place, stating it was contrary to the facts.
Appearing on the YouTube channel OhmyTV, Senior Secretary to the President for Public Relations Sung Kihong pointed out regarding Chief Justice Cho's recent recommendation, "This is a pattern deviating from existing customs, and we view this as a very grave situation. It is an unprecedented situation in constitutional history."
He added, "Because this situation is unprecedented, we are deliberating on how to handle this crisis while reviewing various customs since 1987 and examining legal aspects."
Regarding reports that Cheong Wa Dae is considering demanding a "re-recommendation" instead of proceeding with the appointment procedures for Judge Son, he conveyed, "As this is a serious situation involving unilateral notification that bypassed consultation procedures, we are also deliberating (on such measures)."
In particular, addressing claims made by National Court Administration Minister Noh Kyung-phil (Supreme Court Justice) during a recent appearance at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee—such as "we requested an opportunity to meet between the Chief Justice and the President, but did not get the chance" and "the written recommendation method was discussed with the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs"—he refuted, "Both are entirely untrue."
Senior Secretary Sung emphasized, "While there was discussion on general matters regarding the recommendation of Supreme Court justices, there was no consultation whatsoever regarding specific recommendation methods such as the written recommendation."
He repeatedly stressed, "There was merely an inquiry from the court side asking, 'Can we meet if consultations are reached?', to which we gave a general response saying, 'Let's discuss it then once consultations are reached.' (Minister Noh's claims) differ from the facts."
Earlier on the 18th, Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae submitted a written recommendation to President Lee for Daegu District Court Senior Judge Son Bong-gi and Seoul High Court Senior Judge Kim Sung-soo as candidates for Supreme Court justices.
Ruling camp officials explained that while the Supreme Court and Cheong Wa Dae had concluded consultations regarding Judge Kim Sung-soo, who was recommended as the successor to Supreme Court Justice Lee Heung-goo, discussions ran parallel over the quota for the successor to former Supreme Court Justice Noh.
Cheong Wa Dae reportedly considered High Court Judge Kim Min-ki as its top priority, but the Supreme Court expressed reluctance due to concerns over a potential "conflict of interest," citing the fact that his spouse is Oh Young-jun, a Constitutional Court justice appointed by the current administration.
Against this backdrop, on the 18th, the Supreme Court side reportedly informed the Civil Affairs Office that it would jointly recommend Judge Kim and Judge Son, inquiring, "Can (the Chief Justice and the President) meet if consultations are reached?", to which Cheong Wa Dae responded with the intent of "Let's meet then once consultations are reached."
(Photo: Provided by Cheong Wa Dae Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
