Chief Justice Cho Heedae Recommends Son Bongki and Kim Seongsu as New Supreme Court Justices to Succeed Noh Taeak and Lee Heunggu

Two Candidates Nominated Simultaneously to President Lee Jaemyung
Bonggi Son, Known for His Career as a Local Judge
Seongsu Kim Presided Over the Appeals Trial in the Seoul Western District Court Incident

Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae of the Supreme Court has nominated Son Bongki, Chief Judge at Daegu District Court, and Kim Seongsu, Chief Judge at Seoul High Court, as successors to former Supreme Court Justice Noh Tae-ak and current Justice Lee Heungku, respectively.

Bongki Son, Chief Judge at Daegu District Court (left) and Seongsu Kim, Chief Judge at Seoul High Court. Provided by the Supreme Court

According to the Supreme Court, on August 18, Chief Justice Cho recommended Judge Son to President Lee Jaemyung as the successor to former Justice Noh. He also nominated Judge Kim as the successor to Justice Lee, whose term ends in September.

The vacancies on the Supreme Court continued due to delays in appointing a successor to former Justice Noh, who retired in March. With the upcoming retirement of Justice Lee, the nominations for both vacant positions were made simultaneously. Once President Lee submits the nomination agreements to the National Assembly, subsequent procedures such as confirmation hearings will follow.

The Supreme Court explained that the nominations took into account each nominee's professional legal expertise, capacity for reasonable and fair judgment, commitment to judicial independence and the protection of constitutional rights, dedication to protecting the socially disadvantaged and minorities, and a focus on diversity within the Supreme Court.

Judge Son, from the 22nd class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, began his judicial career as a judge at Daegu District Court in 1996, and for around 30 years mainly served in the Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Ulsan regions. He previously served as a research judge at the Supreme Court, a professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, Presiding Judge at Ulsan District Court, and Chief Judge at Daegu District Court. He also presided over the so-called “Sangju Pesticide Cider” case in a public jury trial.

Judge Kim, from the 24th class of the institute, began his judicial career in 1998 as a judge at Gwangju District Court. He has held several positions, including Ethics and Audit Officer at the National Court Administration, Presiding Judge at Cheongju District Court, and Head Professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Since last year, he has served as Chief Judge at Seoul High Court.

Judge Kim presided over the appeals case involving defendants indicted for the disturbance at Seoul Western District Court, declaring their collective acts of violence against the court as “anti-constitutional” and sentencing them as guilty.

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