[Anchor]

Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae has released an additional statement detailing the reasons why he cannot accept the president's demand to re-nominate a Supreme Court justice candidate. As the room for compromise narrows, projections are emerging that a Supreme Court seat could remain vacant until next year.

Reporter Kim Deok-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae refrained from answering reporters' questions regarding his refusal to comply with the demand for the re-nomination of a Supreme Court justice on his way to work yesterday (the 23rd).

[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice: (Do you maintain your stance to keep the nomination of candidate Son Bong-ki as is?) ......]

However, about two hours later, Chief Justice Cho released an additional statement, noting that various interpretations were emerging regarding the statement he issued a day earlier and that there were requests for a clear explanation.

First, regarding the phrase "the president's acts under state law must be made in documents," which appeared in the statement the day before yesterday, Chief Justice Cho clarified that this was not meant to imply formal defects in the official document sent by the presidential office requesting the re-nomination of the Supreme Court justice last month.

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 state the reasons for the re-nomination request, stating that clear grounds and reasons must be presented in the text of the official document to prevent disputes over validity and to proceed with the procedures.

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

Although he did not directly state 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 stark difference in stance from the presidential office.

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

(Photo: Yonhap News)

Reported by Kim Hangyul | Video by Yoon Tae-ho | Graphics by Park Taeyoung