Cheong Wa Dae Accuses Chief Justice of Misleading Public Despite Clear Rejection of Son Bong-ki in Official Letter

Cheong Wa Dae criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae for claiming that "the official document does not clearly state the reasons for the request" regarding President Lee Jae-myung's demand for a re-nomination of a Supreme Court justice candidate, accusing the chief justice of "misleading the public by asserting the grounds for the re-nomination request are unclear."

Regarding Chief Justice Cho's statement on Wednesday, a Cheong Wa Dae official said, "Anyone looking at the official document can see that the president's position of refusing the appointment is clearly stated."

Earlier, in an official document sent to the Supreme Court on August 28, Cheong Wa Dae wrote: "Regarding candidate Son Bong-ki, as it has been decided pursuant to Article 104, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution and Article 41, Paragraph 2 of the Court Organization Act not to submit a motion for appointment consent to the National Assembly, please re-nominate a Supreme Court justice candidate."

Addressing this, the Cheong Wa Dae official explained, "Stating in the official document that a motion for appointment consent for candidate Son Bong-ki will not be submitted to the National Assembly clearly conveys the refusal with no intent to appoint by not proceeding with the necessary procedures for appointment," adding, "This is the very reason why re-nomination was requested as a follow-up step."

Furthermore, regarding the controversy over the Supreme Court's alleged attempt to seek re-recommendations, the official stated, "Even though four candidates were lawfully recommended by the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee under the Court Organization Act, contacting candidates individually to ask about their willingness to withdraw in order to restart the candidate recommendation process without any legal basis constitutes a serious procedural defect." The official added, "An attempt to exclude lawfully recommended candidates from nomination consideration is what truly undermines the fairness of the procedure."

This served as a direct rebuttal to Chief Justice Cho's remark earlier in the day that he "finds it difficult to accept the claim that procedural flaws existed in the nomination process."

The Cheong Wa Dae official remarked, "If the Chief Justice views the president's appointment authority over Supreme Court justices as a mere formality where he must simply follow whomever is nominated, it would be difficult for him to accept the president's appointment refusal and re-nomination request as they are."

The official continued, "However, considering the president to be bound by the Chief Justice's nomination effectively leads to a result where the Chief Justice appoints the Supreme Court justice," emphasizing that "this is an unconstitutional interpretation of the Constitution that neutralizes the appointment authority of a president elected by the public."

The official added, "We hope the Chief Justice will understand the contents of the official document from the perspective of an ordinary citizen with sound common sense and promptly take follow-up steps so that the people's right to a trial is not infringed upon."

Cheong Wa Dae has reportedly been conducting an internal legal review regarding the president's authority to appoint Supreme Court justices.

Cheong Wa Dae reportedly determined that the president's refusal of the nomination is justified in light of the fact that the Constitution, which previously stipulated regarding the appointment of Supreme Court justices that 'if the Chief Justice nominates, the president shall appoint,' was amended to simply state that the president 'appoints,' and that while the Constitution specifies that the Chief Justice 'designates' Constitutional Court justices, it merely states that the Chief Justice 'nominates' Supreme Court justices.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.