Two nominees to the Constitutional Court who were recommended by the opposition to handle President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment case urged the acting president on Monday to confirm their nominations.
The remarks were made during a National Assembly hearing on Seoul Central District Court Justice Ma Eun-hyuk and Seoul Western District Court Justice Jeong Gye-seon. The two were recommended by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea early this month to fill vacancies on the nine-member bench, alongside another candidate recommended by the People Power Party.
“I believe it is appropriate for the president or the acting president to name a Constitutional Court justice if necessary procedures are carried out in the Assembly when nominating a candidate,” Ma said at the parliamentary hearing.
Jeong echoed Ma’s sentiment and said that if the Constitution grants the president the power to confirm nominations made by the Assembly or the chief justice of the Supreme Court “as a formality,” then acting President Han Duck-soo would have the same authority.
The ruling People Power Party, which boycotted Monday’s hearing, has claimed that the law does not bestow the acting president the power to nominate Constitutional Court justices. The People Power Party's acting chief, Floor Leader Kweon Seong-dong, said in a recent press conference that the acting president only can become the head of the government and not the head of the state, which means Han does not have the power to confirm the justices.
Ma also stressed that the Constitutional Court can subject Yoon’s botched Dec. 3 martial law imposition to judicial review, refuting Yoon’s earlier remarks in his Dec. 12 televised public address. Yoon has claimed that the president's exercise of the right to declare emergency martial law is an act of governance not subject to judicial review, similar to the president’s power of the pardon.
Ma pledged to “swiftly and faithfully carry out the deliberations” if his nomination is confirmed.
The hearing for the third nominee, ex-Seoul Administrative Court Justice and attorney Cho Han-chang, who has been recommended by the ruling party, is set to take place Tuesday.
The court currently has six justices, but the law states that at least seven justices must participate in a review of an impeachment motion.
However, as the Constitutional Court recently accepted an injunction request from Lee Jin-sook, chair of the Korea Communications Commission, to temporarily suspend the provision of the Constitutional Court Act that required hearings by seven or more justices, hearings with six justices have also become possible.
At the same time, reaching a decision on a presidential impeachment with just six justices is a perilous task, as it would require all six justices to accept the parliament's request to remove the president from power.
The People Power Party, in the afternoon, called for the opposition-led Assembly to halt its nomination process for Ma and Jeong, labeling the two candidates as politically biased.
"The Democratic Party has recommended judges that have openly expressed their biased ideals and political tendencies and is now trying to nominate them as (Constitutional Court) justices," the party said in a statement. "We request that they immediately halt the nomination process for the Constitutional Court justices."
