Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, noted on the 31st that Acting President Han Duck-soo can appoint successors for Constitutional Court Justices Moon Hyung-bae and Lim Mi-sun, whose terms expire on the 18th of next month. This stance is quite different from the past view of the ruling party, which maintained that the Acting President should exercise powers such as appointing Constitutional Court Justices passively.
During an emergency press conference held at the National Assembly that afternoon, Kweon stated, "If the eight justices retire due to term expiration on the 18th of next month, there will be only six justices left. With only six, the Constitutional Court cannot function. Therefore, I believe it is necessary for the Acting President to appoint two justices for the court's operation."
Since last December, after the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon, the People Power Party has claimed that the Acting President can only exercise 'passive authority' regarding the appointment of Constitutional Court Justices, arguing that justices cannot be appointed during the President's 'suspension of duty.' They maintained that appointing justices to the Constitutional Court, an independent constitutional body, falls outside the scope of the Acting President's powers when the President is under 'suspension of duty.'
However, the position has changed after about three months. The Constitutional Court cited that the failure to appoint justices violated its specific duties as mandated by the constitution, as it dismissed the impeachment case against one acting president by a 7 to 1 vote. The Constitutional Court has effectively recognized the statuses of the justices appointed by then-Acting President Choi Sang-mok, deeming the controversy over the Acting President's appointment powers resolved.
In response to the criticism that 'didn’t we say just a few months ago that the Acting President couldn’t appoint justices?' Kweon added, "Since Acting President Choi has already appointed two justices, the Constitutional Court has been functioning, and I believe there is a consensus that the Acting President can appoint Constitutional Court Justices."
He also stated, "In the past, there was a debate over whether the Acting President could make appointments, but since Acting President Choi Sang-mok has appointed two of the three justices designated by the National Assembly, this issue has been resolved for now."
Nevertheless, regarding the appointment of candidate Ma Eun-hyeok, which the opposition party claims, Kweon emphasized that it is "a completely separate issue." He stated, "Candidate Ma Eun-hyeok was forced through unilaterally by the Democratic Party without an agreement with the ruling and opposition parties. Candidate Ma lacks commitment to safeguarding democracy, which is the identity of the South Korean Constitution. Appointing such a person as a Constitutional Court Justice is equivalent to giving up the preservation of our constitutional system."
Kweon mentioned that he would discuss relevant issues with the government in the future. He stated, "I have not discussed with the Acting President or the Prime Minister regarding the successor justices whose terms expire on April 18. The question of whether the party will demand the appointment of successor justices will be decided based on the Democratic Party's attitude regarding the impeachment trial."
In the political arena, as pressure from the Democratic Party regarding the appointment of candidate Ma has increased due to 'the impeachment of cabinet members,’ there are analyses suggesting that the ruling party may consider appointing successors for Moon Hyung-bae and Lim Mi-sun as a counter-strategy. The idea is to accept the opposition's claims by agreeing to Ma's appointment while quickly appointing the two successors for the retiring justices so that a conservative majority structure can be established in the Constitutional Court after the 18th of next month.
Currently, the eight Constitutional Court Justices are classified as five moderate to progressive and three moderate to conservative. If the Acting President appoints candidate Ma as well as two successors for the retiring justices (designated by the President), it is highly likely that the Constitutional Court will have four progressive justices and five conservative justices.