On the 16th, the Constitutional Court temporarily suspended the effectiveness of acting President Han Duck-soo's appointment of two constitutional judges. This decision was unanimous among the nine sitting judges. The court will operate in a 'seven-member system' after the retirement of Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae and Justice Lee Mi-sun on the 18th.
This decision is in response to a request filed by attorney Kim Jung-hwan of the law firm Dodam, asking the court to confirm the unconstitutionality of the Prime Minister's act of appointing constitutional judges, while also seeking a temporary injunction to suspend the effectiveness of the appointments until the conclusion of the constitutional appeal.
On that day, the Constitutional Court decided, "The continuation of any appointment procedures based on the Prime Minister's appointment of Director General Lee Wan-kyu and Chief Judge Ham Sang-hoon as constitutional judges will be suspended until the ruling in the constitutional appeal case is announced."
The Constitutional Court stated, "It cannot be definitively concluded that the Prime Minister, acting with presidential authority, may exercise the authority to appoint judges. Furthermore, if it is asserted that the acting Prime Minister does not have the authority to appoint judges, then the applicant (Attorney Kim) would be subjected to constitutional review by a person who is not a 'judge' appointed according to the 'qualifications and procedures defined by the Constitution and law,' thereby infringing upon their right to a fair trial."
The Constitution stipulates that three out of the nine constitutional judges must be appointed after being nominated by the President. However, there are no specific provisions in the Constitution regarding the ability of the acting Prime Minister to nominate and appoint constitutional judges. In academia and the legal community, there is a prevailing opinion that 'an acting authority cannot exercise active personnel authority to appoint high-ranking officials.'
With the Constitutional Court's decision to suspend the effectiveness of Prime Minister Han's appointment of two judges, it will temporarily operate in a 'seven-member system' after the retirement of judges Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-sun on the 18th.
In response, the Constitutional Court stated, 'Even after the retirement of the two judges, the seven judges can examine the cases and make decisions, and if the outcome of the cases may vary depending on the opinions of the remaining two judges, they may wait for their appointment to continue the examination and decision-making.'