Members of the People Power Party, which is part of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, urged on the 31st that the so-called 'Constitutional Court Term Extension Act' and others, led by the opposition party, be presented to the committee, stating, "We must stop this unconstitutional legislative rush."
Legislation and Judiciary Committee members from the ruling party, including Yu Sang-beom, who is the committee's deputy, held a press conference that afternoon at the National Assembly and denounced the two bills on amending the Constitutional Court Act submitted to the committee, stating, "This is an explicit 'law for the privatization of the Constitutional Court' and 'law for the politicization of the judiciary' intended to conclude the presidential impeachment trial in line with the Democratic Party's preferences, while allowing the Democratic Party to arbitrarily configure the Constitutional Court."
They also claimed, "Contrary to initial expectations that the presidential impeachment trial case would be cited, there are rising predictions that it may be dismissed, and as the judgment date continues to be postponed, the anxious and restless Democratic Party is forcing the nominee Ma Eun-hyuk, unilaterally selected by them, to be appointed as a judge and is artificially attempting to configure the Constitutional Court by extending the term of judges Moon Hyung-bae and Imi-sun, who are scheduled to retire on April 18, appointed by the Moon Jae-in administration."
In doing so, they pointed out the unconstitutional elements of the bills the opposition party is attempting to push through.
They specifically commented on a bill that would force the president to appoint candidates for the Constitutional Court within seven days, stating, "This encompasses cases where candidates do not meet qualification requirements or where there are flaws in the election process, allowing the president to withhold appointments and demand re-elections, thus infringing on the principle of separation of powers, which is unconstitutional."
They also pointed out regarding a bill that automatically extends the six-year term of constitutional court judges until a successor is appointed, stating, "It is clearly unconstitutional to change a term defined by the constitution through law."
Earlier, on that day, the opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, submitted two bills to amend the Constitutional Court Act to the committee's bill review subcommittee. The amendment proposed by Democratic Party member Lee Sung-yoon stipulates that the president must appoint judges elected or nominated by the National Assembly and the Supreme Court within seven days, and if not, it is considered as appointed. Additionally, it includes provisions for judges to continue performing their duties until a successor is appointed, even if their terms expire.
Another amendment proposed by the same party's Kim Yong-min includes provisions stating that the acting president cannot exercise appointment authority regarding candidates for constitutional court judges recommended by the president.
The opposition plans to vote on the two bills amending the Constitutional Court Act in the committee that day and handle them at the plenary session on the 1st of next month.