Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae's father dies; outside condolence visits declined

Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae's father has died.

According to the Supreme Court on Monday, Jo's father, Jo Bu-hwan, died Sunday at the age of 93.

A Supreme Court official said the chief justice wishes to hold a quiet funeral with his family, and asked that outside condolence visits be declined and that media coverage be kept to a minimum.

Jo did not report to work Monday and is expected to attend to funeral arrangements.

With Jo now in mourning, his statement on the renomination of a Supreme Court justice is expected to be further delayed.

Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday that it would not submit to the National Assembly a motion for appointment consent for Senior Judge Son Bong-gi, whom Jo had nominated to succeed former Justice Noh Tae-ak. The announcement came 10 days after Jo submitted the nomination in writing. Cheong Wa Dae said there had been no substantive consultation between the president and the chief justice during the nomination process, adding that it "did not sufficiently meet procedural completeness."

Cheong Wa Dae also asked Jo to submit a new nomination. It said it hoped Jo would "respect the recommendations of the candidate recommendation committee and proceed with the renomination process as swiftly as possible" — signaling in effect that Jo should choose from among the three remaining candidates recommended by the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee in January, excluding Son.

Attention has focused on whether Jo will renominate another candidate from the existing pool or reconstitute the recommendation committee and restart the selection process from scratch. Observers said either path would inevitably trigger further fallout from the conflict between the ruling camp and the judiciary. On Friday afternoon, Jo told reporters on his way out of the office that he was "first and foremost sorry to have caused concern to the public" on the renomination issue, adding that he was "reviewing the details." He said he would "make a formal announcement once things are sorted out sometime next week."

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee had planned to hold a plenary session Monday, summoning Jo and Court Administration Office Chief Noh Gyeong-pil as witnesses for an emergency inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the justice nomination. Jo, however, submitted a written notice of absence on Friday. Only Noh is expected to appear before the Assembly on Monday.