Former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo Nominated Two as 'President's Appointees' in April
Constitutional Court Accepted Injunction to Suspend Nomination Process
President Lee Expected to Begin Process of Nominating New Constitutional Court Justices
On June 5, President Lee Jaemyung officially withdrew the nominations of Lee Wankyu and Ham Sanghun as Constitutional Court justice candidates, who had been nominated by former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo during the administration of former President Yoon Sukyeol. These individuals were nominated on April 8 as the 'president's appointees' by then Acting President Han, but the nominations were nullified after 58 days. As a result, President Lee is expected to begin the process of nominating new Constitutional Court justices.
Spokesperson Kang Yujeong stated during a briefing at the Yongsan presidential office, "President Lee has withdrawn the nominations of Lee Wankyu and Ham Sanghun as Constitutional Court justices, which were made without authority by former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo."
These two individuals were nominated by former Prime Minister Han, who was serving as acting president, as successors to Justices Moon Hyungbae and Lee Miseon. Immediately after the nominations, some members of the Democratic Party of Korea and parts of the legal community argued that former Prime Minister Han's nomination of Constitutional Court justice candidates as 'presidential appointees' constituted an abuse of authority. Subsequently, on April 16, the Constitutional Court accepted an injunction, stating, "The acting president's nomination of justices could constitute an abuse of appointment authority." As a result, the appointment process for these candidates was suspended.
At that time, the Constitutional Court unanimously accepted an injunction request filed by attorney Kim Junghwan of the law firm Dodam, seeking to suspend the effect of Acting President Han's nominations. The Court stated, "The applicant faces a risk of suffering irreparable and significant harm, and regardless of whether the National Assembly conducts a confirmation hearing, the candidates could be appointed as justices. Therefore, there is an urgent need to prevent such harm by granting the injunction."
The Court further explained, "At this point, it is reasonably predictable that the candidates would be appointed as justices, and there is a possibility that they could be appointed before the final decision in the constitutional complaint is delivered. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that the main case of this injunction application is clearly inadmissible or without merit." The Court also judged that the harm resulting from granting the injunction and later dismissing the claim would be less significant than the harm that would result from denying the injunction and later upholding the claim.
With the withdrawal of former Prime Minister Han's nominations for Constitutional Court justices, President Lee is expected to begin the process of nominating new justices. Meanwhile, since April 19, the Constitutional Court has been operating with a seven-member system. This is the third time in history and the first in eight years since March 2017, when then-Acting Chief Justice Lee Jungmi retired and the Court operated with seven justices. According to Article 23 of the Constitutional Court Act, the Court can deliberate and deliver rulings with seven justices.
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