The first hearing in the first-ever "constitutional appeal against a judgment," which can overturn a finalized Supreme Court ruling, over Green Cross's penalty surcharge for bid rigging in a vaccine tender, will be held next month.
According to legal sources, the Constitutional Court will hold a hearing at 3 p.m. on Oct. 7 in the grand courtroom for the constitutional appeal case filed by Green Cross against the Supreme Court. The constitutional appeal system took effect on Mar. 12. Among the constitutional appeal cases filed with the court since then, this was the first to pass the preliminary review by the designated panel and be referred to the full bench for substantive review.
Earlier, the Korea Fair Trade Commission imposed a 2 billion won penalty surcharge on the grounds that, in three tenders for HPV4 (Gardasil) vaccine purchases ordered by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency from April 2017 to January 2019, Green Cross used a wholesaler as a decoy, won as the first-priority bidder, and engaged in bid rigging. Green Cross filed an administrative suit in protest, but the Seoul High Court dismissed the claim in October last year, and the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal in February with a summary dismissal.
However, in the related criminal case over vaccine bid rigging, the Supreme Court finalized an acquittal, saying there was no "substantive competitive relationship." It is unusual for judgments to diverge between a criminal case and an administrative suit on the same issue.
The Constitutional Court requested a written response from the chief justice of the Supreme Court regarding Green Cross's constitutional appeal, but the Supreme Court did not submit one. The rationale is that if the court, which plays the role of adjudicator, files a rebuttal against the claimant, who is one party to the case, its neutrality could be compromised.