"Hard to Accept 'Procedural Flaws':" Chief Justice Releases Second Statement

[Anchor]

Friction between the presidential office and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Cho Hee-de over Supreme Court justice nominations is escalating. In an additional statement, Chief Justice Cho directly refuted the presidential office's position, stating that it is difficult to accept the reasoning that there were procedural flaws in the nomination process.

Reporter Kim Deok-hyeon has the first report.

[Reporter]

On his way to work yesterday (September 23), Chief Justice Cho Hee-de refrained from commenting when asked by reporters about the refusal to accept the request for re-nomination of a Supreme Court justice.

[Cho Hee-de / Chief Justice of the Supreme Court : (Are you maintaining your stance to keep candidate Son Bong-gi's nomination as is?) ......]

Even so, about two hours later, Chief Justice Cho released an additional statement, explaining that various interpretations had emerged regarding the statement he issued a day earlier and that there were demands for a clear explanation.

First, regarding the expression in the statement the day before yesterday that "the President's acts under the constitution and law must be done in writing," Chief Justice Cho stated that it was not intended to imply that the official request for re-nomination sent by the presidential office last month had formal defects.

However, he emphasized that the relevant official document did not clearly state the reasons for requesting the re-nomination.

He pointed out that the presidential office failed to properly disclose the reasons for the re-nomination request, stating that clear grounds and reasons must be presented in the text of the document to prevent disputes over its validity and to allow the procedures to proceed.

He added that it is difficult to accept the presidential office's claim that there were procedural flaws in the previous Supreme Court justice nomination process.

While he did not directly address whether the president can refuse to appoint a Supreme Court justice candidate nominated by the Chief Justice, he clearly noted that even if the president has the power to refuse appointment, specific reasons must be officially presented. This is interpreted as revealing a distinct difference in stance from the presidential office.

Chief Justice Cho expressed regret over the public inconvenience caused by the prolonged vacancy on the Supreme Court bench, stating that he will do his utmost to ensure the procedures are concluded swiftly.

(Video Shooting: Hangyul, Video Editing: Yoon Tae-ho, Design: Park Tae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.