Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de said on the 22nd that he cannot comply with the presidential office's request to renominate a candidate for the Supreme Court, 25 days after the office effectively returned his written nomination of Son Bong-gi on Aug. 28 and asked him to submit a new one.
Speaking to reporters, Jo said that "the president's acts under the law shall be executed in documents countersigned by the prime minister and the members of the State Council concerned." He said the only document related to the request was the Aug. 28 "request for renomination of a Supreme Court justice candidate," which he said did not specify the reasons for the request or its constitutional basis. "I cannot find any specific constitutional grounds or reasons that would otherwise justify the renomination request," he said. "I hereby state that I cannot comply with the request."
The dispute over the nomination dates back to Jan. 21, when the candidate recommendation committee put forward four names to succeed former Justice Roh Tae-ak: Seoul High Court judges Kim Min-ki and Park Soon-young, Seoul High Court senior judge Yoon Sung-sik, and Daegu District Court senior judge Son Bong-gi. By custom, the chief justice nominates a final candidate after the presidential office and the judiciary reach an informal understanding, but the two sides failed to agree on who was best suited for the post.
With the seat left vacant for months, Jo broke with that practice on Aug. 18 and nominated Son, on whom no agreement had been reached. Ten days later, on Aug. 28, the presidential office called the move "a unilateral written nomination made without substantive consultation" and demanded a new nomination.
