Chief Justice Choe Hee-dae Submits Letter of Non-attendance to Judiciary Committee: "Contrary to Judicial Independence"

"Testifying About Grand Bench Referral Grounds Also Violates the Constitution"

It has been confirmed that Chief Justice Choe Hee-dae has submitted a written statement indicating that he will not attend the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's policy inquiry scheduled for the 31st.

Chief Justice Choh Hee-dae is leaving the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 28th. Around 6:11 p.m., Chief Justice Cho met with reporters on his way home from the Supreme Court building in Seocho-gu and, when asked about his position on the "request for disciplinary action against the Supreme Court justice," he said, "First of all, I apologize for causing concern to the people" and added, "The details are under review." Yonhap News

According to the National Assembly on the 28th, Chief Justice Choe submitted a letter expressing his intention not to attend the committee meeting that day.

In the statement, Chief Justice Choe said, "Having the Chief Justice testify before the National Assembly regarding the exercise of the nomination authority, which is an independent constitutional power, runs counter to the principles of separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary."

Chief Justice Choe further stated, "It is also inappropriate for the Chief Justice to disclose specific procedures or personal information about candidates concerning ongoing personnel matters."

He continued, "The Constitution of the Republic of Korea stipulates that, with regard to the appointment of Supreme Court justices, the Chief Justice has the authority to make nominations, the National Assembly has the right to consent to the appointments, and the President has the authority to appoint. This system ensures the realization of the separation of powers through mutual checks among constitutional institutions."

Chief Justice Choe also said, "Testifying about the grounds for referring cases to the Supreme Court Grand Bench violates Article 103 of the Constitution, which guarantees the independence of the judiciary."

Previously, on the 21st, the committee decided at a plenary meeting to summon Chief Justice Choe as a witness to inquire about his written nominations for Supreme Court justices and the reasons for referring the cases of former Prime Minister Han and former Minister Lee to the Supreme Court Grand Bench.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.