Minister Cho Woncheol: "Chief Justice Violates Constitutional Duty if He Fails to Submit New Recommendation"
Dispute over a new Supreme Court justice recommendation... Cho Woncheol: "Refusing to submit a new recommendation would mean failing to fulfill the chief justice's duties"
Jo Woncheol, minister of the Ministry of Government Legislation, answers lawmakers' questions during a parliamentary audit of the ministry at the National Assembly on Oct. 15, 2026. Photo by Yoon Dongju
View original imageMinister of Government Legislation Cho Woncheol said that “the president is not bound by the chief justice’s recommendation,” referring to the standoff between the presidential office and Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae over a request to re-nominate a candidate for Supreme Court justice. He also said that if the chief justice did not submit a new recommendation, he would be failing to fulfill his constitutional duties.
At the National Assembly’s parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Government Legislation on Oct. 15, 2026, Cho responded to a question from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Dong-a about the nature of the recommendation power, saying it was “a kind of recommendation and proposal.” He added, “The president is not bound by the recommendation and is not required to appoint the recommended candidate.” Regarding the National Assembly’s consent process, Cho said, “Conceptually, seeking the National Assembly’s consent when there is no intention to make the appointment is a contradiction.”
Cho directly rejected Chief Justice Jo’s claim that “a request for a new recommendation is unconstitutional.” Cho said, “That argument assumes that the president is bound by the chief justice’s recommendation and must appoint the recommended candidate, but no one in our country interprets the Constitution that way.”
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When Kim then asked whether failing to submit a new recommendation would amount to neglecting the chief justice’s duties, Cho replied, “If the chief justice does not exercise the power to recommend, and as a result no Supreme Court justice is appointed, disrupting the composition or operation of the Supreme Court, he would be failing to fulfill his constitutional duties.”
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