"Death Penalty, Abolition-Oriented... Recognition of Homosexuality and Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage Are Separate"
National Assembly Written Response... "Ministry of Justice's Judicial Personnel Screening Is Not Desirable"
Nominee for Constitutional Court Justice Jeong Hyeong-sik expressed regret over the fact that in the past, he had sentenced Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong to a suspended prison term in the appellate trial related to the 'state power abuse' case, but the Supreme Court overturned this decision, confirming a prison sentence.
In a written response submitted to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 10th, Nominee Jeong stated, "As a result, there was a discrepancy in the amount of bribery ultimately recognized by the Supreme Court ruling, and I express regret that a prison sentence was confirmed for the defendant, Chairman Lee Jae-yong."
In February 2018, while serving as the presiding judge of the Criminal Division 13 of the Seoul High Court, Nominee Jeong handled the appellate trial of Chairman Lee's 'state power abuse' case, overturning the first trial's sentence of five years in prison and sentencing him to two years and six months in prison with a four-year probation.
At that time, the court recognized only 3.6 billion won paid for equestrian support services for Ms. Jeong Yoo-ra as bribery. However, in August of the following year, the Supreme Court's full bench increased the recognized bribery amount by 5 billion won, overturned the ruling, and in January 2021, Chairman Lee was sentenced to two years and six months in prison in the retrial and was detained.
Nominee Jeong said, "Although 3.6 billion won is a large amount in itself, I considered that it was a demand-type bribe under pressure from former President Park overall," adding, "I ruled according to the Constitution, laws, and conscience."
Regarding public evaluations that his political orientation is conservative, he rebutted, "There may be evaluations labeling the results of trials I handled as 'progressive' or 'conservative' depending on the case, but as a judge, I have conducted trials solely based on the Constitution, laws, and objective conscience."
Jeong Hyeong-sik, Candidate for Constitutional Court Justice. On the 16th of last month, President Yoon Seok-yeol nominated Jeong Hyeong-sik, Chief Judge of Daejeon High Court, as the new candidate for Constitutional Court Justice, succeeding former Constitutional Court Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok. [Photo by Presidential Office]
On the death penalty, Nominee Jeong said, "It is not appropriate to express specific opinions on cases currently under review," but added, "Regardless of its constitutionality, I believe the death penalty should be abolished in principle, and the timing should be determined by public consensus."
Regarding same-sex marriage, he stated, "Recognizing homosexuality and institutionalizing same-sex marriage are separate matters," and added, "While homosexuality may fall under the realm of sexual self-determination and freedom of privacy, like other fundamental rights, it can be restricted to the extent necessary for national security, order maintenance, and public welfare."
On the Korea Communications Standards Commission's 'fake news review,' he said, "Preemptive regulation that excludes the possibility of correction through rebuttal or criminal punishment causing excessive chilling effects is difficult to justify constitutionally," and added, "It is necessary to actively consider regulatory methods starting from low-level regulations, including voluntary methods."
Responding to the Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin's criticism that "personnel screening of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Supreme Court Justices, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, and Constitutional Court Justices by the executive branch (Ministry of Justice) negatively affects judicial independence," Nominee Jeong said, "Since there is a risk of creating an appearance that could affect the independence of judicial power, it is undesirable for the Ministry of Justice to be responsible for personnel screening of the judiciary."
Nominee Jeong identified the biggest issue facing the Constitutional Court as 'delays in trials.' He said, "All members of the court must make efforts, and improvements to the constitutional trial system for supplementing personnel and enhancing trial efficiency should be pursued simultaneously."
Regarding former Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo's six years in office, he evaluated, "I understand that judicial reforms were pursued, such as the institutionalization of the National Judges' Representative Meeting, establishment of the Judicial Administration Advisory Council, abolition of the promotion system for high court chief judges, introduction of the court chief candidate recommendation system, and dejudicialization of the Court Administration Office," but added, "On the other hand, it is also true that there were concerns about prolonged trial periods in first-instance courts, trial delays, and biased personnel appointments."
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