"President in His Heart Seems to Be Yoon," "Each Authority Must Be Respected"... Sharp Clashes

[Anchor]

At the National Assembly today (the 31st), a heated debate ensued over the presidential office's request for Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to reconsider and resubmit a candidate for Supreme Court Justice. The ruling party even went as far as claiming that Chief Justice Cho's inner president still appears to be former President Yoon Suk Yeol. In response to the conflict between the Chief Justice's right to recommend and the President's right to appoint, the Minister of the National Court Administration stated, "The authority of each should be respected."

Reporter Kim Bo-mi has the details.

[Reporter]

At the plenary session of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts today.

Regarding the clash between the presidential office and the Supreme Court over the recommendation for appointing a Supreme Court justice, when a ruling party lawmaker pressed whether the President must mechanically accept whatever the Chief Justice recommends, Noh Kyung-pil, Minister of the National Court Administration, responded as follows:

[Noh Kyung-pil / Minister of the National Court Administration: Personally, I believe that the respective authority of each should be respected.]

The ruling party lawmaker sharpened their attack, claiming that Chief Justice Cho does not respect the democratically elected president and continues to provoke the constitutional order.

[Lee Kun-tae / Democratic Party Lawmaker: It still seems like the president in Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's heart is former President Yoon Suk Yeol.]

Opposition lawmakers argued that the practice of prior consultation between the President and the Chief Justice before recommending a Supreme Court justice exists nowhere in the Constitution, and that accepting the request to resubmit would degrade the Chief Justice's recommendation right to mere "advisory rights."

[Cho Bae-sook / People Power Party Lawmaker: While it is said there is such a practice of prior consultation, isn't this actually unconstitutional? Is there any problem with Supreme Court Justice nominee Son Bong-ki? Is there any problem?]

[Noh Kyung-pil / Minister of the National Court Administration: No. I believe he is an outstanding judge.]

When asked whether the Supreme Court would reconfigure the candidate recommendation committee in response to the presidential office's request for resubmission, Minister Noh only replied that they are "reviewing the relevant laws and regulations."

A pending issues session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee scheduled to be held today was canceled due to the passing of Chief Justice Cho's father, and the Democratic Party even issued internal guidelines instructing members to show respect during the mourning period.

Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-shik visited the mortuary to convey President Lee Jae-myung's condolences.

(Video by: Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing: Seunghee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.