Blue House Criticizes Cho Huidae's Refusal to Resubmit Nominee as "Unconstitutional Interpretation," Expresses Deep Regret

Cho Heedae Announces “Cannot Comply with Request for Resubmission”

Office of the President: “Undermining the Authority of the Elected President’s Power of Appointment”

The Office of the President strongly criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae’s announcement on September 22 refusing to resubmit his nomination, stating that it “reflects a perception that violates the Constitution of the Republic of Korea.”

A senior official at the Office of the President said that “The Chief Justice’s statement suggests that the right of nomination held by the Supreme Court Chief Justice takes precedence over the President’s right of appointment,” and continued, “the idea that if the Chief Justice nominates a candidate for the Supreme Court, the President must simply appoint that person would render powerless the appointment authority granted to the President by the people.”

The official added, “We express deep regret over the Chief Justice’s announcement that he will not resubmit a nomination for the successor to former Supreme Court Justice Noh Tae-ak, despite the President’s return of the previous nomination.”

The official went on to explain, “It has now been six months since former Supreme Court Justice Noh retired, and each justice handles between 3,500 and 4,600 cases per year. The prolonged vacancy of even one Supreme Court Justice directly infringes on the public’s right to a speedy trial.”

The official further urged, “The Chief Justice must recognize that a prolonged vacancy among Supreme Court justices causes harm to the public, and he should no longer leave the situation unaddressed.”

On this day, Chief Justice Cho announced his position that he could not comply with the Office of the President’s request to resubmit a nomination for Supreme Court justice. Speaking to reporters, he said, “Acts of state by the President must be carried out in documents countersigned by the Prime Minister and relevant cabinet ministers,” and added, “Regarding this request for resubmission, there exists only a document dated August 28 titled ‘Request for Resubmission of Supreme Court Justice Nominee,’ but this document does not state any specific grounds or constitutional basis for the request.”

Chief Justice Cho further stated, “I cannot find any specific constitutional grounds or reasons that would otherwise justify the request for resubmission,” and added, “I must make clear that I am unable to comply with the request for resubmission.”

On August 18 of last month, Chief Justice Cho broke with the usual practice of nominating a Supreme Court justice only after reaching an agreement with the Office of the President, and nominated Son Bong-gi for appointment. In response, ten days later, the Office of the President requested a resubmission, describing the nomination as a “unilateral written nomination submitted without substantive consultation.”

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