Kweon Young-se, chairperson of the People Power Party's emergency response committee, noted on the 17th that the Constitutional Court suspended the effect of the nomination of Han Duck-soo, the acting Prime Minister, for the position of Constitutional Court judge, saying he expresses "strong regret over the elastic ruling."
The day before, the Constitutional Court accepted the request for a preliminary injunction to suspend the effect of the nomination of the acting President's share for a Constitutional Court judge. Accordingly, the court will operate in a seven-member system for the time being, and the next president, after the presidential election on June 3, is expected to nominate and appoint successors to judges Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-sun.
Chairperson Kweon criticized at the emergency committee meeting held at the National Assembly that "the Constitutional Court acknowledges the unconstitutional abuse of power by large parties virtually indefinitely, while obstructing the legitimate appointment authority granted to the acting President. "
The chairperson emphasized, "The acting President literally occupies the position of acting the powers of the President, and it is appropriate to view that all constitutional powers of the President can be exercised during the vacancy of the presidency."
In particular, he pointed out, "The Democratic Party of Korea and the National Assembly Speaker paralyzed the executive branch with the impeachment and then intentionally obstructed the appointment of Constitutional Court judges for the purpose of extending the suspension period of the impeached ministers, and after the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol was submitted, they pressured the appointment of Constitutional Court judges, saying a quick ruling is necessary."
He then said, "Rather than rebuking such unconstitutional parliamentary dictatorship, the Constitutional Court is, in fact, parrotting the Democratic Party's logic and positioning itself as a loyal supporter of the large party," and added, "There are even criticisms among the public that it is a 'Democratic Party Constitutional Dispatch Center.'"
On the same day, Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, also released a statement, saying, "The Constitutional Court made a decision just five days after the request for a preliminary injunction was filed. This is the fastest decision made by the Constitutional Court," adding, "Since when has the Constitutional Court moved so quickly? The place that passed without making any decision on our party's request for a preliminary injunction regarding the impeachment trial against a president's acting authority is the Constitutional Court."
The floor leader asserted, "There is a process for the appointment of Constitutional Court judges which involves the National Assembly's personnel hearing, and it is the acting President who decides the appointment based on public opinion," and stated, "The judges' arbitrary exclusion of the acting President's personnel rights based on speculative assumptions can only be seen as the last exercise of power by judges Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-sun, who are nearing retirement."
The floor leader further criticized, "Ignoring the request for a preliminary injunction submitted by the People Power Party while quickly accepting a favorable preliminary injunction for Lee Jae-myung's faction, is that 'the fairness of the Constitutional Court'?" He noted that "The Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung faction has enforced impeachment hearings for Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is scheduled to attend the G20 (Group of Twenty) finance ministers' meeting next week, and the impeachment of acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is being discussed daily, while Korean National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho has been in a state of suspension from duty for 127 days as of today, and the impeachment trial is being prolonged indefinitely without any scheduling. "
He continued, "Amid the current constitutional crisis characterized by Lee Jae-myung's style of impeachment, what is wrong with the judgment that we must maintain a nine-member system so that the Constitutional Court can make a timely and fair judgment?" and pointed out, "The public's concern that the Constitutional Court has stepped into the political arena while considering only political interests should not be taken lightly."