Democratic Party urges Chief Justice Jo to stop 'nomination politics,' resubmit Supreme Court justice candidates

The Democratic Party of Korea urged Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae on Saturday to stop what it called "nomination politics" and move forward with resubmitting candidates for vacant Supreme Court justice seats.

Democratic Party floor spokesperson Jeon Eun-su said in a written briefing that Jo should "stop playing nomination politics" unless his earlier unilateral nominations were intended to force a reset of the entire selection process.

Jeon said Jo, speaking at the Court Day ceremony on Friday, had said the judiciary must serve as the last line of defense for the people's fundamental rights and carry out its constitutional mission without wavering. "Then show that in action," Jeon said.

Jeon said two Supreme Court justice seats are currently vacant, and that the search for a successor to former Justice Noh Tae-ak, who retired in March, has been adrift for more than six months. She said Cheong Wa Dae had asked Jo to resubmit a candidate for that seat, but that Jo had still not given a clear answer.

"The harm from vacant Supreme Court seats ultimately falls on the people," Jeon said. She added that the Supreme Court had already reorganized its small-bench composition to prevent disruptions to proceedings, and that the caseload on remaining justices would inevitably grow. Providing swift and fair trials, she said, is the judiciary's constitutional duty to the public.

Jeon said the chief justice's nomination authority is not a tool to demonstrate the power of the judiciary's head or to push back against the president's appointment power. "It is a constitutional authority that must be exercised to minimize vacancies on the Supreme Court and fully guarantee the people's right to a trial," she said.

She asked Jo directly: "If you did not submit those reckless nominations from the start with the intention of reconstituting the candidate recommendation committee and reshuffling the deck, what reason is there to delay resubmission any further?" She warned that if Jo were to set aside already-recommended candidates and restart the recommendation committee from scratch, that would itself be "another scheme to prolong the justice selection process."

Jeon urged Jo to "stop using nomination authority as a tool of obstruction to drag out the vacancy" and to promptly proceed with resubmission from among the candidates already recommended by the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee.

"The independence of the judiciary and its constitutional mission are not upheld by words alone," she said, urging Jo to fulfill the constitutional duty he himself had emphasized through a responsible decision that would prevent further delays to the people's right to a trial. "The chief justice's seat is not a political one," she added.

On Aug. 28, Cheong Wa Dae submitted to the National Assembly a confirmation motion for only one of the two Supreme Court justice candidates Jo had nominated — Seoul High Court Senior Judge Kim Sung-su — while declining to proceed with the appointment of Daegu District Court Senior Judge Son Bong-gi and asking Jo to resubmit a different candidate in Son's place. Jo had nominated Son on Aug. 18 as a successor to former Justice Noh Tae-ak and Kim as a successor to former Justice Lee Heung-gu.

Jo has yet to announce his position on Cheong Wa Dae's request that he resubmit a candidate to succeed former Justice Noh.