[Anchor]

Regarding the issue of the Supreme Court Justice written nomination, Cheong Wa Dae has adopted a hardline stance, calling it an "unprecedented event in the constitutional history" and an "unprecedented unilateral notification." Cheong Wa Dae is expected to refrain from proceeding with the appointment procedures for candidate Son Bong-ki and instead demand Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae submit a re-nomination.

Reporter Kang Min-u has the details.

[Reporter]

Regarding Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's written nomination of Supreme Court justice candidates, Cheong Wa Dae stated last night (August 20) that it was "an unprecedented event in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea" and "an unprecedented unilateral notification that skipped consultations."

The Minister of Court Administration explained at the National Assembly the day before yesterday that consultations had taken place with the Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs prior to the written nomination.

[Noh Kyung-phil / Minister of Court Administration (the day before yesterday): The method was decided by agreement and consultation with the Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs... (What did you agree on and do?) We agreed to make a written nomination.]

Cheong Wa Dae refuted this, stating it was not true.

[Sung Ki-hong / Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Relations (on OhmyTV's Park Jung-ho's Hotspot): While we did discuss general matters, there was absolutely no consultation—no consultation whatsoever—regarding specific nomination methods, such as whether or not to issue a written nomination.]

The Supreme Court did not issue any particular reaction today regarding this stance from Cheong Wa Dae.

Within Cheong Wa Dae, discussions are underway to send only the appointment consent bill for candidate Kim Sung-soo—who faces no objections among the two candidates nominated by Chief Justice Cho—to the National Assembly, while demanding a "re-nomination" for candidate Son Bong-ki, who was nominated as the successor to former Supreme Court Justice Noh Tae-ak but became the focal point of the clash between the two sides.

However, it is understood that it has not yet been decided whether Cheong Wa Dae will formally demand "the unacceptability of candidate Son and a re-nomination of a new candidate" in an official written format to the Supreme Court, or convey its intent for a "re-nomination demand" implicitly by choosing not to send the appointment consent bill to the National Assembly.

Some within the ruling bloc suggest there is political burden, given that there has been no precedent under the post-1987 constitutional system of a president refusing to appoint a Supreme Court justice candidate nominated by the Chief Justice.

Nevertheless, stark reactions from within Cheong Wa Dae, such as the sentiment that "we found out about Candidate Son Bong-ki's nomination only through news reports," lead to widespread projections that the written nomination for the Supreme Court justice will virtually not be accepted as is.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)
(Video reporting: Jung Sang-bo, Ha Ryung | Video editing: Nam Il | Design: Jang Sung-beom)