"Temporary Grant of Judge Status to Ma Eun-hyuk Requested in Injunction to Constitutional Court"

Despite the Constitutional Court's decision to accept the dispute over authority, the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk, a nominee for Constitutional Court Justice, has been delayed for over two weeks, and on the 18th, a provisional injunction was filed requesting that he be temporarily granted the status of a justice.

Ma Eun-hyuk, nominee for Constitutional Court Justice. Photo by Yonhap News

On the same day, Kim Jeong-hwan, a lawyer from Dodam Law Firm, submitted a provisional injunction petition to the Constitutional Court, requesting that "Ma be granted the status of a justice until the formal appointment process of Ma is completed." Earlier, on December 28 of last year, Lawyer Kim filed a constitutional complaint arguing that Acting President Choi Sang-mok's refusal to appoint the justice nominee elected by the National Assembly was unconstitutional.

In the petition, Lawyer Kim stated, "An unprecedented situation in constitutional history is occurring where Acting President Choi, who holds the status of a state official, is not complying with the Constitutional Court's decision," and argued, "Not only is the binding force of the Constitutional Court's decision being nullified, but the legal principle that all state institutions must follow the Constitutional Court's decisions, which are based on the trust of the people, is collapsing." He also expressed concern that due to the shortage of justices, his right to receive a fair trial in another constitutional complaint case he filed is being infringed, and the legitimacy of the Constitutional Court's decision could be distorted, causing significant harm.

On the 27th of last month, the Constitutional Court accepted the dispute over authority filed by Woo Won-sik, Speaker of the National Assembly, representing the National Assembly, and stated that Acting President Choi has the authority to appoint Ma as a justice. However, the request to directly appoint Ma as a justice was dismissed, stating that "this is not a matter for the Constitutional Court to decide."