Regarding the presidential office's rejection of Supreme Court justice candidate nominations, 84 legal professionals from the 14th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute issued a statement urging, "The president must stop forcing the re-nomination of Supreme Court justices, which lacks constitutional grounds."

Eighty-four legal professionals from the 14th class, including attorney Kang Min-gu of Law Firm Dool, released a statement today (the 2nd), emphasizing, "Just because the president holds the authority to appoint Supreme Court justices does not mean they also possess the right to select the candidates."

They explained, "The chief justice's right to nominate is not a subordinate power assisting the president's appointment authority, but an independent power directly granted by the Constitution to ensure the judiciary's independence," adding, "Prior consultations between the president and the chief justice are not nomination requirements mandated by the Constitution or law."

They further stated, "If the president rejects other candidates until a specific preferred candidate is nominated, it effectively means the president is exercising both the nomination and appointment powers."

Regarding legislative moves to newly establish a presidential veto power over nominations, they criticized it as "an abuse of legislative power that disrupts the constitutional separation of powers."

In addition, they urged Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, "Do not waver under political pressure and protect the nomination power and judicial independence granted by the Constitution," demanding that unless there are legitimate grounds for refusal, he should not comply with requests for re-nomination.

The 84 participants in the statement are legal professionals who are one class junior to Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, who belongs to the 13th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

(Photo: Yonhap News)