[Politics That Day] 1988 Jeong Gi-seung Supreme Court Chief Justice Rejection... Really Due to a 'Fatal Mistake'?

First Chief Justice in Constitutional History Rejected by National Assembly Approval
First Year of Roh Tae-woo Government, Turbulent Political Situation
Invalid Vote Due to Writing Name Instead of Only 'Yes' or 'No'

Editor's Note‘On That Day in Politics’ is a series that looks back on Korean politics through the ‘recollection of memories’ related to notable scenes, events, and figures.

The year 1988, the historical backdrop of the drama ‘Reply 1988,’ was a year full of significance in many ways. It was the year of the inauguration of the Roh Tae-woo administration and the Seoul Olympics, but it was also the year when the National Assembly experienced the first-ever rejection of a Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee in the history of the constitution.

In the late 1980s, a ‘period of chaos,’ the National Assembly dealt a fatal blow to the ruling power. What story lies behind this? The Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee who was the first ever to be rejected by the National Assembly was Jeong Gi-seung.

On July 2, 1988, the National Assembly held a plenary session and voted on the appointment consent bill for Jeong Gi-seung as Supreme Court Chief Justice. The result was 141 votes in favor, 6 against, 134 abstentions, and 14 invalid votes, leading to the rejection. The ruling Democratic Justice Party (DJP) of the Roh Tae-woo government was shocked.

The National Assembly plenary session hall. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Although there were expectations that the Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee would be approved since both the ruling DJP and the opposition Republican Party internally expressed support, the outcome was different. The opposition led by the Peace Democratic Party and the Democratic Party succeeded in blocking Jeong Gi-seung’s approval.

The quorum required for passage was a majority of participating members, 148 votes, but it fell short by 7 votes, resulting in failure to pass the bill. With the Peace Democratic Party and the Democratic Party casting abstentions at the party level, the 14 invalid votes played a decisive role in the rejection of Jeong Gi-seung’s nomination.

An interesting point is that there were conflicting analyses regarding the abstentions: some viewed them as a fatal mistake, while others believed they were intentional errors.

According to the National Assembly Act, the ballot for the Supreme Court Chief Justice approval vote should only have ‘Ga’ (approve) or ‘Bu’ (disapprove) marked, but among the invalid votes, 9 were found to have the name ‘Jeong Gi-seung’ written instead of ‘Ga.’ Four others had both the name ‘Jeong Gi-seung’ and the ‘Ga’ mark, and one vote had the character ‘Chan’ (approve) instead of ‘Ga.’

Supreme Court

Most of the invalid votes appeared to express support for Jeong Gi-seung’s approval but were invalidated for not following the prescribed notation method stipulated by the National Assembly Act.

Suspicions arose that some members of the DJP and the Republican Party intentionally created invalid votes. It was hard to understand how such a critical vote could involve such a fatal mistake, especially by as many as 14 people.

There was also an assessment that the vote on Jeong Gi-seung’s nomination was a reckless move from the start. The ruling party showed gaps in internal vote management and in seeking cooperation from the opposition, and by pushing the vote through forcefully, they ultimately suffered political embarrassment.

Immediately after the rejection of Jeong Gi-seung’s appointment consent bill, the ruling party was thrown into turmoil, with key party officials including the representative member expressing their intention to resign.

Former President Roh Tae-woo [Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong Gi-seung was criticized as a figure who had aligned himself with power and was pressured to resign both inside and outside the legal community. The criticism was that someone who acted against judicial independence should not be appointed as Supreme Court Chief Justice.

The DJP explained the large number of invalid votes as a ‘technical mistake,’ but various interpretations emerged in political circles. There was also criticism that the very act of nominating a figure opposed even by judicial trainees as the Supreme Court Chief Justice candidate was problematic.

Additionally, it was analyzed that accumulated dissatisfaction and resistance within the ruling party during the April 1988 general election nomination process were expressed during the vote on Jeong Gi-seung’s appointment consent bill.

The first-ever rejection of a Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee in constitutional history. The incident that took place in the National Assembly in July 1988 cast a dark shadow over the ruling party in the first year of the Roh Tae-woo administration.