The presidential office said on the 28th that it "decided not to submit to the National Assembly the appointment consent motion for Supreme Court justice nominee Son Bong-gi, who was recommended as the successor to Roh Tae-ak," and that it "asked Chief Justice Jo Hee-de to re-recommend a candidate for Supreme Court justice." This is the first time in constitutional history that a president has rejected a Supreme Court justice nominee recommended by the chief justice. The presidential office added, however, that "for Kim Sung-soo, nominated to succeed Justice Lee Heung-gu, we will submit the appointment consent motion to the National Assembly today."
Earlier, on the 18th, Chief Justice Jo Hee-de recommended Son Bong-gi, a presiding judge at the Daegu District Court, and Kim Sung-soo, a presiding judge at the Seoul High Court, as Supreme Court justice nominees to President Lee Jae-myung. The recommendation was made in writing, which differed from the practice of the chief justice meeting the president to make the recommendation. After that, the presidential office began to take issue with Son's recommendation.
Chief Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a briefing that afternoon, "Article 104, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution provides that 'Supreme Court justices shall be appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly upon the recommendation of the chief justice of the Supreme Court.'"
Kang, the Spokesperson, said, "The president is the representative of the people directly elected by the sovereign people, and the chief justice is an institution appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly." Kang continued, "Recommendation and appointment are powers allocated to different constitutional institutions under the principle of separation of powers, and in light of the principle of popular sovereignty, the power to recommend should be understood not as a power that replaces or neutralizes the power to appoint, but as one that supports the proper exercise of the appointment power."
Kang added, "The fact that successive presidents and chief justices have reached recommendations through prior consultations has also followed the constitutional intent of mutual respect for each institution's powers."
Kang, the Spokesperson, said, "This recommendation for the successor to former Justice Roh Tae-ak did not sufficiently achieve procedural completeness." Kang went on, "After the recommendation by the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee in January, no recommendation was made for more than seven months, and then in August Son Bong-gi was unilaterally recommended in writing," adding, "It is also questionable whether this recommendation of Son aligns with the public's call for diversifying the composition of the Supreme Court."