President Lee Jae-myung delivers opening remarks at the “Youth Budget Unboxing 2027” event held at Cheong Wa Dae on Feb. 28. Photo by Kwon Wook
Park added that “President Lee Jae-myung will appoint as many as 22 of the 26 Supreme Court justices, including the chief justice, during his term.” He warned that “if the chief justice’s nomination power is neutralized and the bench is filled with loyalists, the Supreme Court of Korea will inevitably degenerate from the last bulwark of the judiciary into a ‘bulletproof law firm’ defending the president’s legal risks and a ‘free legal defense team’ for the administration.”
Kim Tae-kyu, the party’s chief floor spokesperson, said in a separate statement that “the presidential office says the practice of prior consultation reflects the intent of the constitution, but Article 104 of the constitution stipulates only the chief justice’s nomination and the National Assembly’s consent — there is no clause allowing the president to send a nomination back.” He added that the administration “elevates custom to constitutional status when convenient, and kicks aside even constitutional powers as violations of custom when they get in the way.”
Lawmakers also posted successive criticisms of the presidential office. Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party wrote on Facebook that “if the message is not to submit a nomination unless there is agreement, that is not consultation but prior approval,” adding, “Isn’t this too blatant? Do they intend to build a court exclusively for Lee Jae-myung?”
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo said that “the Democratic Party is a large ruling party with 161 seats, and if the nominee is truly unfit, it can simply vote him down in the National Assembly as a party line.” He argued that “the reason the consent motion cannot be sent to the National Assembly nonetheless is fear of defections from the pro-Chung Chung-rai faction, which split completely during this party convention.”