Chief Justice Jo Hee-de recommended to President Lee Jae-myung nominees to replace former Supreme Court Justice Roh Tae-ak, who has already retired, and Supreme Court Justice Lee Heung-gu, who retires next month, but observers say it will be hard to fill the seats left vacant for a long time.
Because prior consultations between Chief Justice Jo and the presidential office did not go smoothly, a "written recommendation" was made, drawing strong backlash from the ruling bloc, which is again raising the possibility of impeaching Chief Justice Jo. Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, also called for him to step down voluntarily.
◇Judge Son Bong-gi at issue shows no clear political leanings
According to legal sources on the 19th, Chief Justice Jo the previous day recommended Son Bong-gi, a senior judge at the Daegu District Court, to replace former Justice Roh. For Justice Lee's replacement, he recommended Kim Seong-su, a senior judge at the Seoul High Court.
Judge Kim, a native of Hampyeong, South Jeolla, graduated from Gwangju Inseong High School and Hanyang University's law department. While serving at the Seoul High Court in Feb. 2015, he served as the presiding judge in the appeals trial of former National Intelligence Service Director Won Sei-hoon's case, recognized the charge of election interference, sentenced him to three years in prison—heavier than the lower court—and remanded him to custody in the courtroom.
In September of the same year, in the appeals trial of then-Seoul Superintendent of Education Cho Hee-yeon—who was indicted for raising suspicions that former Seoul superintendent candidate Koh Seung-duk held U.S. permanent residency—he handed down a suspended sentence of a 2.5 million won fine. The ruling was finalized by the Supreme Court, allowing former Superintendent Cho to keep the post.
The Supreme Court and the presidential office are said to have reached agreement on Judge Kim. However, they failed to agree on the replacement for former Justice Roh, and Chief Justice Jo reportedly proceeded with a written recommendation rather than meeting President Lee Jae-myung in person.
Earlier, in January, the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee recommended four candidates, including Senior Judge Son, to replace former Justice Roh. The presidential office was reportedly inclined toward Kim Min-gi, a progressive-leaning high court judge at the Seoul High Court who is a woman. Chief Justice Jo, by contrast, is said to have opposed this out of concern for a potential conflict of interest because Judge Kim's husband is Constitutional Court Justice Oh Young-jun, appointed by President Lee.
Instead, the Supreme Court favored another female candidate, Park Sun-young, a high court judge at the Seoul High Court, but failed to reach agreement with the presidential office. The alternative pick, Senior Judge Son, is a "local judge" from the Yeongnam region and does not show distinct ideological leanings.
◇Kim Min-seok: "Get out right now"; Song Young-gil renews impeachment push
Under the Constitution, once the chief justice recommends a Supreme Court justice, the president appoints the nominee with the consent of the National Assembly. But the ruling bloc is reacting strongly to Chief Justice Jo's written recommendation to President Lee, saying it "broke with custom," raising doubts over whether a confirmation hearing or a vote on the consent motion can proceed smoothly.
Democratic Party lawmaker Song Young-gil wrote on Facebook the previous day, "You sat on (the recommendation of successors) for half a year, and now it's just a notice?" reiterating his call to impeach Chief Justice Jo, as he did during the party convention. Leader Kim Min-seok said at the supreme council meeting that day, "As soon as people said (the delay in appointing justices) is grounds for impeachment, he acted in violation of the spirit of the law," adding, "Jo Hee-de, get a grip and get out right now."
At a full meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee held that day, Democratic Party lawmakers also delivered sharp criticism toward National Court Administration Minister Noh Kyung-pil (a Supreme Court justice) in attendance. Lawmaker Kim Ki-pyo said, "The president's authority to appoint Supreme Court justices flows from the status of head of state," adding, "The chief justice only exercises the right to recommend."
By contrast, People Power Party lawmaker Kwak Gyu-taek asked, "Before the chief justice makes a recommendation, can someone point to a specific candidate and demand, 'Recommend this person'?" Minister Noh replied, "Personally, I think (you cannot). There is no such provision in the law."
Minister Noh said, "Personally, while it would be problematic for (the president to tell the chief justice) that a specific person must be recommended, I think it is possible to assess that 'this person is not appropriate.'" Lawmaker Kwak argued, "If it is confirmed that the president demanded the recommendation of a specific person as a Supreme Court justice, that would be grounds for impeachment."
◇Possibility that President Lee will not send the consent motion to the National Assembly
For the president to appoint a Supreme Court justice, the president must send a consent motion to the National Assembly after receiving the chief justice's recommendation. The National Assembly then holds a confirmation hearing, and if the consent motion passes, the president appoints the nominee. There is no explicit provision requiring the president to send the consent motion to the National Assembly after receiving the recommendation.
A similar situation occurred under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. In June 2023, progressive-leaning former Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su had to recommend successors to former Justices Cho Jae-yeon and Park Jeong-hwa to then-President Yoon Suk-yeol. At the time, figures in the presidential office said that if former Chief Justice Kim recommended specific progressive-leaning candidates, then-President Yoon would reject them. The justices who were appointed after former Chief Justice Kim's recommendations—Seo Kyung-hwan and Kwon Young-jun—are viewed as moderates without distinct political leanings.
This time, even if President Lee sends the consent motion to the National Assembly, some predict the Democratic Party will move to vote it down. Lawmaker Lee Geon-tae said the previous day, "Even if the president sends the consent motion to the National Assembly, the Democratic Party should vote it down." The Democratic Party passed a motion in the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee to demand the chief justice's attendance, saying it would scrutinize the nomination process for the Supreme Court justice candidates.