The Supreme Court has begun reviewing the presidential request for a new nominee for chief justice. A key issue is whether to reconstitute the Supreme Court Nomination Committee to restart the nomination process.
According to legal sources on August 28, the Court Administration Office is examining responses to the request from the Blue House to nominate a different candidate instead of Son Bong-ki, a senior judge at the Daegu District Court.
The Supreme Court is expected to consider whether it can reactivate the committee formed in January or if it must establish a new committee to start the process from scratch. Article 41-2, Section 8 of the Court Organization Act states that the committee is considered dissolved once it recommends a nominee for chief justice.
This raises questions about whether one of the three candidates previously recommended by the committee can be immediately resubmitted. The Supreme Court has not yet made an official statement regarding the acceptance of the request or the specific follow-up procedures.
On the same day, the Blue House decided not to submit the confirmation vote for Son Bong-ki, who was nominated to succeed former Chief Justice Noh Tae-ack. The reason cited was that Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae did not complete the procedural integrity by submitting Son's nomination without substantial consultation with the Blue House.
However, the nomination for Kim Seong-su, a senior judge at the Seoul High Court, who was also nominated to succeed Justice Lee Heung-gu, will proceed as planned with the submission of the confirmation vote to the National Assembly.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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