[Profile] Lee Jong-seok, Nominee for Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court

Representative 'Conservative' in the Constitutional Court... Rational Personnel Evaluation
Retirement in October Next Year Likely to Be a Variable

On the 18th, Lee Jong-seok, a Constitutional Court justice (age 62, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 15), who was nominated as the new Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, is from Daegu and was a classmate of President Yoon at Seoul National University’s College of Law, class of ’79.

Constitutional Court Justice Lee Jong-seok. Photo by Jin-hyung Kang aymsdream@

Justice Lee was appointed as a judge at the Incheon District Court and later served as a judge at the Seoul High Court, Judicial Policy Officer at the Court Administration Office, Chief Judge at the Seoul Central District Court, Chief Judge at the Daejeon High Court, Senior Chief Judge at the Suwon District Court, Chief Judge at the Seoul High Court, Senior Chief Judge of Bankruptcy at the Seoul Central District Court, Senior Chief Judge at the Seoul High Court, and Chief Judge of the Suwon District Court before becoming a Constitutional Court justice in 2018, recommended by the Liberty Korea Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party.

Justice Lee, classified as a representative conservative figure in the Constitutional Court, presided over the impeachment trial of Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, which was initiated by the Democratic Party in February this year. The impeachment request was unanimously dismissed by all nine justices. Additionally, in March, during the constitutional review of the amended Prosecutors’ Office Act and Criminal Procedure Act, known as the ‘Geomsu Wanbak’ (complete removal of prosecutorial investigation authority) laws, the court found that the Geomsu Wanbak laws could potentially infringe on prosecutors’ authority.

The Constitutional Court expects that since Justice Lee was already vetted through a National Assembly hearing when he was appointed as a justice, his confirmation through the personnel hearing process will proceed smoothly. He is regarded as a judge who conducts rational trials. His experience in judicial administration as Chief Judge of the Suwon District Court is also viewed positively.

However, by convention, even if a sitting Constitutional Court justice is appointed as Chief Justice, they only serve the remainder of their existing six-year term as a justice. Therefore, Justice Lee’s term will expire in October next year. This has raised concerns that he might become a “half-term” Chief Justice.