People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik criticized Cheong Wa Dae today (September 23) after the presidential office expressed regret over Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's refusal to recommend an alternative nominee for Supreme Court Justice, calling it "a shameless display of double standards typical of the Lee Jae-myung administration."

Floor Leader Jeong wrote on Facebook today, "Above all, the responsibility for the six-month delay in appointing a successor to former Supreme Court Justice Roh Tae-ak lies not with Chief Justice Cho, but with President Lee, who has pressured the Chief Justice to recommend Senior Judge Kim Min-gi for the Supreme Court."

He stated, "President Lee has committed an unconstitutional act that trampled on the Chief Justice's right of recommendation and undermined the separation of powers, not only by demanding a new recommendation without any constitutional basis, but also by unreasonably coercing the recommendation of a judge he favored over the past six months." He added, "There is only one way to resolve the vacancy on the Supreme Court: immediately submit the motion for confirmation of Supreme Court Justice nominee Son Bong-ki to the National Assembly."

He also pointed out, "On October 2, the prosecution service will be dismantled and a new criminal justice system launched. If things continue like this, the system will start like a departing train with open doors, with the top positions at all four major law enforcement agencies—the Minister of Justice, the Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency, the head of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, and the head of the Public Prosecution Agency—remaining vacant." He added, "Does a president who brought about such an absurd situation have any right to speak of a vacancy on the Supreme Court?"

He continued, "What is even more baffling is that despite announcing the nomination for the head of the Major Crimes Investigation Agency, more than two weeks have passed without sending the confirmation hearing request to the National Assembly." He added, "President Lee must make a decision—whether to withdraw the appointment of nominee Kim Ji-yong or push ahead with it in line with the wishes of (Gyeonggi) Governor Choo Mi-ae and ruling party hardliners. While the president cowardly hesitates between reading the room of hardliners and clinging to the pride of an appointing authority, it is the public who suffers."