The prolonged vacancy on the Supreme Court has emerged as the first test for new National Court Administration Minister Noh Kyung-pil. A successor to former Supreme Court Justice Roh Tae-ak, who retired in March, has yet to be named, and Supreme Court Justice Lee Heung-gu will complete his term in September.
If the appointments are further delayed, the composition of Supreme Court panels and the assignment of cases could be disrupted. Attention is on whether Minister Noh, who serves as the liaison channel between the judiciary and the presidential office and National Assembly, can lead consultations with political circles to resolve the vacancy issue.
◇ Task of filling Supreme Court vacancies right after taking office
According to legal sources on the 15th, Supreme Court Justice Noh Kyung-pil (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 23) took office as National Court Administration Minister the previous day. It comes about four months after former Supreme Court Justice Park Young-jae resigned from the minister post in protest of the push for the so-called "three judiciary bills," including the crime of judicial distortion, the introduction of a retrial petition system, and increasing the number of Supreme Court justices.
The National Court Administration Minister oversees administrative affairs such as personnel, budget, and organization of the judiciary. One of the Supreme Court justices serves concurrently and does not handle trials during the term. Accordingly, the Supreme Court's Third Division, to which Minister Noh belonged, will be operated with three justices.
The issue is that Supreme Court Justice Lee Heung-gu, who serves on the same panel, will retire in September. A successor to former Supreme Court Justice Roh Tae-ak, who retired in March, has not been appointed yet. If the recommendation of a successor is delayed, there is a possibility that the composition of small panels of the Supreme Court and the assignment of cases will be disrupted.
With Minister Noh's inauguration, attention is also focused on the long-delayed appointments of Supreme Court justices. The National Court Administration Minister appears before the National Assembly and the Cabinet to explain the judiciary's position and is involved in the process of recommending key legal figures. Whether Minister Noh, serving as a communication channel with political circles such as the presidential office and the National Assembly, can resolve the vacancies on the Supreme Court is seen as the first test.
◇ Appointment of Roh Tae-ak's successor stalled for half a year after recommendations
The selection of a successor to former Supreme Court Justice Roh Tae-ak has been on hold since the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee recommended four candidates in January. The recommended candidates are High Court Judges Kim Min-gi (class 26) and Park Soon-young (class 25) of the Seoul High Court, Senior Judge Son Bong-gi (class 22) of the Daegu District Court, and Senior Judge Yoon Sung-sik (class 24) of the Seoul High Court.
If Chief Justice Jo Hee-de recommends one of them to the president for appointment, the president will make the final appointment after a National Assembly confirmation hearing and a vote on the appointment motion. However, it is reported that the recommendation has been delayed as consultations between the Supreme Court and the presidential office have not proceeded smoothly.
Ki Woo-jong, the National Court Administration Vice Minister who had been serving as acting National Court Administration Minister, answered a question from a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker about the timing of the recommendation of a Supreme Court justice at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's full session on the 8th, saying, "It's not that there have been no consultations at all," and "We will make efforts."
Inside and outside the judiciary, attention is on whether Minister Noh, unlike his predecessor who clashed with the ruling camp, can communicate relatively smoothly with political circles. Former Minister Park Young-jae served as the presiding justice when the Supreme Court, in May last year, remanded President Lee Jae-myung's Public Official Election Act violation case with a view to conviction. Since then, voices within the ruling camp have continued to demand Park's resignation.
Minister Noh has no direct trial connection to President Lee's case. Hailing from Haenam, South Jeolla, he graduated from Gwangju High School and Seoul National University School of Law. A National Court Administration Minister from the Honam region is the first in about 10 years since former Supreme Court Justice Ko Young-han (class 11).
◇ A pool of 28 candidates... court presidents and high court judges
The Supreme Court is expected to proceed with the selection of a successor to former Supreme Court Justice Roh Tae-ak and a successor to Supreme Court Justice Lee Heung-gu, whose term ends in September, either simultaneously or sequentially.
Last month, the Supreme Court released a list of 28 candidates to succeed Justice Lee, and the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee is conducting reviews. Senior Judge Son Bong-gi, who had been recommended as a candidate to succeed former Justice Roh, has also been included again in the candidate pool.
The candidate pool includes many officials at the court president level. They include Gwangju High Court President Seol Beom-sik (class 20), Seoul Bankruptcy Court President Jeong Jun-young (class 20), Busan District Court President Kim Moon-kwan (class 23), Seoul Western District Court President Kim Tae-eop (class 25), Ulsan District Court President Yoo Jin-hyeon (class 25), and Daegu Family Court President Lim Hae-ji (class 28). From among former chief judicial researchers, Senior Judge Hwang Jin-gu (class 24) of the Seoul High Court was listed.
Since the abolition in 2020 of the promotion system to senior judge at the high court level, the settled title of "high court judge" and senior judges at district courts were also included on the list. They include High Court Judge Jeong Jae-o (class 25) of the Seoul High Court, High Court Judge Kim Moo-shin (class 24) of the Seoul High Court, High Court Judge Kwon Soon-min (class 27) of the Incheon Panel of the Seoul High Court, High Court Judge Kim Jin-seok (class 25) of the Cheongju Panel of the Daejeon High Court, Senior Judge Kim Jeong-jung (class 26) of the Gwangju District Court, who previously served as Seoul Central District Court President, and Senior Judge Kim Guk-hyeon (class 24) of the Suwon District Court, who previously served as Seoul Administrative Court President.
◇ First Supreme Court appointments under the Lee Jae-myung administration… trial connections also a factor
This round of appointments will be the first Supreme Court nominations since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, and candidates' political and ideological leanings are expected to be key variables. Kim Sang-hwan, the Constitutional Court president nominated by President Lee in June last year, and Constitutional Court Justice Oh Young-joon are classified as progressive or center-left.
The list also includes figures connected to President Lee through trials. High Court Judge Jeong Jae-o of the Seoul High Court was a member of the panel that acquitted President Lee on appeal in the Public Official Election Act violation case.
A native of Gwangju, the judge graduated from Gwangju Salesian High School and Seoul National University School of Law, and also published a paper addressing the need for legislation to provide legal protection for same-sex couples. In particular, given the symbolic significance of being from the first cohort of high court judges, if appointed, the first "Supreme Court justice from the high court judge track" would be inaugurated.
Lee Jae-kwon (class 23), a senior judge at the Seoul High Court who, as the presiding judge in the remand trial of President Lee Jae-myung's Public Official Election Act case, postponed a hearing date just before the presidential election, is also in the candidate pool.