Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-sik has decided to seek a ruling from the Constitutional Court regarding Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok's decision to withhold the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk, a nominee for Constitutional Court Justice.
Speaker Woo Won-shik is speaking at the National Assembly on the 31st, meeting with representatives from both ruling and opposition parties. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
On the 3rd, Speaker Woo announced that he had submitted a 'Request for Adjudication on Authority Dispute' concerning the withholding of Ma's appointment, along with a 'Provisional Injunction Application to Confirm Temporary Status' stating that Ma already holds the position of Constitutional Court Justice, to the Constitutional Court.
Speaker Woo filed the authority dispute adjudication on the grounds that Acting President Choi arbitrarily decided to withhold the appointment of Ma, one of the three Constitutional Court Justices elected by the National Assembly's resolution on the 26th of last month. The argument is that the National Assembly's authority to elect justices, the authority to constitute the Constitutional Court through this process, and the right to be fairly adjudicated in impeachment trials have been infringed.
Through his social media account the previous day, Speaker Woo disclosed official letters from the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea, asserting that the selection of the three Constitutional Court Justice nominees recommended by the National Assembly was based on bipartisan agreement. Woo stated, "The floor leaders of both major parties publicly declared the recommendation of the three Constitutional Court Justices elected by the National Assembly," and added, "Since bipartisan agreement has been clearly confirmed, Acting President Choi must immediately appoint Ma as a Constitutional Court Justice."
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