Constitutional Court Justice Ma Eun-hyuk Begins Term on 9th... Joins 104 Days After Parliamentary Election

To Serve as Justice Until April 8, 2031

Constitutional Court Justice Ma Eun-hyuk will take office on the 9th and begin a six-year term. It has been 104 days since he was elected by the National Assembly on December 26 of last year.

Yonhap News

Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, acting on behalf of the President, appointed nominee Ma (age 62, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 29) as a Constitutional Court Justice on the same day. According to the Constitution, the term for a justice is six years, and Justice Ma will serve until April 8, 2031.

Previously, Justice Ma, who was nominated by the Democratic Party of Korea, went through the National Assembly election process, but was unable to join for a long time due to Acting President Han’s refusal to appoint him.

After Han was impeached and Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, took over as acting president, on December 31 of last year, he appointed Justices Jo Han-chang and Jung Gye-seon but withheld the appointment of nominee Ma Eun-hyuk, citing the lack of bipartisan agreement.

In response, the Constitutional Court ruled in the authority dispute trial filed by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and the impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han that "the failure to appoint Justice Ma, elected by the National Assembly, by the acting president infringes on the Constitutional Court’s composition rights and is unconstitutional."

Justice Ma began his career as a judge at Daegu District Court in 2000 and has served in judicial roles for 25 years at Seoul Central District Court, Seoul Family Court, and Seoul High Court. Before becoming a judge, he was involved in activist organizations and was known to have been active in progressive political parties. He was also a member of the progressive judges’ group, Uri Beop Yeonguhoe.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Acting President Han nominated Lee Wan-gyu, head of the Ministry of Government Legislation, and Ham Sang-hoon, chief judge of Seoul High Court, as successors to Moon Hyung-bae, acting president of the Constitutional Court, and Justice Lee Mi-seon, whose terms end on the 18th. They will be finally appointed after going through the National Assembly’s confirmation hearings.