First Supreme Court Justice Candidates Appointed by Lee Jaemyung Administration: Kim Minki, Park Soonyoung, Son Bongki, Yoon Seongsik

The view of the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The first Supreme Court justice candidates to be appointed by the Lee Jaemyung administration have been narrowed down to four: Kim Minki (age 55, 26th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute), Park Soonyoung (age 59, 25th class), presiding judge at the Seoul High Court, Son Bongki (age 60, 22nd class), presiding judge at the Daegu District Court, and Yoon Seongsik (age 57, 24th class), presiding judge at the Seoul High Court.

On January 21, the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee selected these four individuals from a pool of 39 candidates and recommended them to Chief Justice Cho Heedae as nominees.

Chief Justice Cho plans to disclose the candidates' major rulings and previous work experience, gather opinions from both within and outside the judiciary, and then select one nominee to recommend for appointment. Typically, three candidates are recommended, but this time, four have been shortlisted.

Kim Minki, presiding judge at the High Court, is a former member of the Woori Law Research Society. His spouse, Oh Youngjun, was appointed as a Constitutional Court justice as a presidential nominee under the current administration.

Park Soonyoung, presiding judge at the High Court, was previously nominated as a Supreme Court justice candidate in 2023 and 2024. He is recognized within the judiciary as a labor law expert, having served at the Seoul Administrative Court and as a research judge at the Supreme Court.

Son Bongki, presiding judge, has worked in the Daegu and Ulsan regions. He served as chief judge of the Daegu District Court during Chief Justice Kim Myungsoo's term and has been nominated as a Supreme Court justice candidate since 2021.

Yoon Seongsik, presiding judge at the High Court, previously served as Director of Planning and Coordination at the National Court Administration and as Supreme Court spokesperson, earning a reputation for his expertise in both trials and judicial administration. He was also a member of the Woori Law Research Society.

The Supreme Court justice to be appointed this time will succeed Justice Noh Taeak, who will retire on March 3. This is the first Supreme Court justice appointment since President Lee took office in June last year.