Claim of Infringement on the Right to Trial by Judges Determined by the Constitution and Laws
Request for Suspension of Effect of Nominations of Lee Wan-gyu and Ham Sang-hoon as Justice Candidates
A constitutional complaint and a provisional injunction request have been filed with the Constitutional Court, asking for a ruling on whether Prime Minister and Acting President Han Deok-su's act of nominating candidates for constitutional court justices is unconstitutional.
According to the legal community on the 9th, law firm Deoksu filed this constitutional complaint and provisional injunction request with the Constitutional Court on behalf of Yoon Mo and Hong Po, who are undergoing an unconstitutional law review related to their criminal cases.
They argued that Acting President Han's nomination of constitutional court justice candidates violated Article 27, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution, which states, "All citizens shall have the right to receive a trial by judges determined by the Constitution and laws," thereby infringing on their rights.
Deoksu, handling the case, claimed that since Han is an acting president, he cannot exercise the president's exclusive authority to nominate justices, and that justices nominated or appointed by an acting president lack qualifications. Through the petition, Deoksu stated, "The respondent, as acting president, holds only indirect democratic legitimacy but exercised the president's exclusive constitutional authority to compose the Constitutional Court, infringing on the petitioners' constitutionally guaranteed rights."
Yoon and Hong were criminally punished for their activities in the 1990s as part of the large corporate labor union solidarity council and are currently undergoing retrial. They are parties to the unconstitutional law review case concerning the former Labor Dispute Adjustment Act, which the Constitutional Court is reviewing.
Deoksu also filed a provisional injunction request to suspend the effect of the nominations of judicial candidates Lee Wan-gyu and Ham Sang-hoon until the constitutional complaint ruling is issued. The day before, Acting President Han nominated Lee Wan-gyu, head of the Legislative Office, and Ham Sang-hoon, chief judge of the Seoul High Court, as successors to Moon Hyung-bae, acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court, and Justice Lee Mi-seon, whose terms end on the 18th.
Meanwhile, on the same day, lawyer Kim Jeong-hwan of law firm Dodam also filed a similar constitutional complaint and provisional injunction request with the Constitutional Court. Kim had previously filed a constitutional complaint arguing that the acting president's failure to appoint justices elected by the National Assembly was unconstitutional.
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