Lee Jae-myung: "Han Deok-su Mistakenly Thinks He's President... Overreacting Without Authority to Nominate 'Judge'"

Lee Jae-myung Speaks Out After Morning Daejang-dong Trial
Han, Acting President, Nominates Successor for "President's Share" Constitutional Court Justice

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said regarding Han Deok-su, Acting President and Prime Minister, nominating a successor for the Constitutional Court Justice, "It seems Prime Minister Han mistakenly thinks he is the president," adding, "He does not have such authority. It seems he is overstepping."

After finishing the morning trial of the Daejang-dong, Wirye, Baekhyeon-dong, and Seongnam FC cases held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 33 (Chief Judge Lee Jin-gwan), Lee made these remarks as he left the court. That morning, Acting President Han nominated Ma Eun-hyuk as a Constitutional Court Justice, along with Lee Wan-gyu, head of the Legislative Office, and Ham Sang-hoon, chief judge of the Seoul High Court, as successors to Justices Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-seon, whose terms end this month.

Lee said, "Just because a rabbit enters a tiger's den does not mean it becomes a tiger," adding, "The composition of the Constitutional Court Justices is made up of three appointed by the elected president, three by the elected National Assembly, and three by the neutral Supreme Court."

That morning, as Lee appeared for the trial, he did not respond to reporters' questions such as "Why did you not appear as a witness in the Daejang-dong civilian trial?" "Why did you not receive the documents for the election law trial appeal?" and "How do you view the possibility of the perjury coaching verdict date changing due to the presidential election schedule?" Instead, he headed straight to the courtroom.

With the next presidential election, held due to the impeachment of former President Yoon Seok-youl, set for June 3, attention is focused on the trial proceedings as Lee's perjury coaching case appeal trial's closing arguments are scheduled for the same day.

Lee was acquitted in the perjury coaching case in November last year. The Seoul High Court, which is handling the appeal trial, has announced it will conclude the trial procedures on June 3.

Meanwhile, in the Daejang-dong, Wirye, Baekhyeon-dong, and Seongnam FC case trial, the procedure to renew the trial due to the replacement of the presiding judges continues in the afternoon following the morning session.