Ruling and opposition parties clash over appointment of 3 additional judges to Contitutional Court

[Anchor]

Currently, the Constitutional Court has six judges, with three positions remaining vacant, which has become a point of contention in the political arena.

Regarding whether Acting President Han Duck-soo can appoint three judges, both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party are opposing each other with arguments that are completely opposite to those in the past.

Reporter Kim Cheong-yun reports.

[Report]

The Democratic Party is hastening the appointment process for the three Constitutional Court judges recommended by the National Assembly.

They plan to hold candidate hearings on December 23 and 24 and aim to finalize the appointment consent process by the end of this year.

In response, the People Power Party has stepped in to put the brakes on this.

They emphasized that the Acting President cannot appoint judges of the Constitutional Court, which is an independent constitutional body.

[Kwon Seong-dong/Acting Leader and Floor Leader of the People Power Party: "Since the President is in a state of suspension rather than a vacancy, Acting President Han Duck-soo cannot appoint Constitutional Court judges until the impeachment decision."]

They also cited the precedent where Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn did not appoint judges during former President Park Geun-hye's suspension and only did so after the impeachment was upheld.

The Democratic Party immediately protested.

They criticized that the President's appointment of the judges recommended by the National Assembly is a formal procedure, and that the People Power Party is intentionally delaying the impeachment process.

[Park Chan-dae/Floor Leader of the Democratic Party: "This is nothing but wordplay. The People Power Party should abandon their pathetic delay tactics and quickly respond to the schedule for the personnel hearings."]

During a meeting between the floor leaders of both parties to discuss national recovery measures, they did not back down.

They clashed, stating that they were reversing the arguments they made during the impeachment of former President Park in 2017.

[Kwon Seong-dong/Acting Leader and Floor Leader of the People Power Party: "At that time, then-Party Leader Choo Mi-ae, Floor Leader Woo Sang-ho, and Legal Affairs Committee Secretary Park Beom-kye all argued that the Acting President cannot appoint Constitutional Court judges..."]

[Park Chan-dae/Floor Leader of the Democratic Party: "You said the Acting President do not have the authority to appoint, but in 2017, you said something completely different. The President's appointment of Constitutional Court judges is a mere formality in the appointment process..."]

Amid the opposition's attempts to prepare for the presidential election before the high court ruling on Lee Jae-myung's election law case, and the ruling party's efforts to buy time to avoid the aftermath of the martial law situation, the tug-of-war over the appointment of Constitutional Court judges is expected to continue.

KBS News, Kim Cheong-yun.