Partisan confrontation intensifies over appointment of constitutional court judges

[Anchor]

The National Assembly's confirmation hearing for three candidates for Constitutional Court judges has been scheduled for early next week, led by the opposition party.

However, the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties over their appointment is intensifying.

In response to the Democratic Party's claim that the public demands the swift appointment of the three candidates, the People Power Party stated that it would not participate in the hearing, arguing that it undermines fairness.

Reporter Jeong Jae-woo reports.

[Report]

The special committee for the confirmation hearing of the Constitutional Court judge candidates was held with only opposition party members in attendance.

Initially, the chair of the special committee was People Power Party member Jeong Jeom-sig, but Democratic Party member Park Ji-won took over as chair after participating in the committee.

Opposition members adopted the hearing schedule unilaterally, stating that appointing the Constitutional Court judges is the first step to resolving the national governance vacuum.

[Park Ji-won/Chair of the Special Committee: "The public demands the swift formation of the nine-member Constitutional Court to resolve the impeachment issue."]

On Decembet 23, a confirmation hearing will be held for the two candidates recommended by the Democratic Party, and on the 24th, for the candidate recommended by the People Power Party.

As the Constitutional Court has announced its first hearing date for the 27th, the opposition plans to complete the appointment process within this month, even if the ruling party does not participate.

On the other hand, the People Power Party argued that it is a violation of fairness for the National Assembly, which passed the impeachment motion, to determine the Constitutional Court judges.

[Kwon Seong-dong/Acting Leader of the People Power Party: "The act of the National Assembly, which proposed the impeachment, recommending Constitutional Court judges is akin to a prosecutor appointing a judge for a case they are prosecuting."]

They also reiterated that the acting president does not have the authority to appoint judges before the impeachment motion is upheld.

Jeong Jeom-sig, who was designated as the chair of the special committee, expressed regret over the unilateral proceedings by the opposition and demanded that the distribution of the three National Assembly recommendations between the ruling and opposition parties be renegotiated.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik stated that in the urgent situation of stabilizing national governance, the controversy over the appointment of Constitutional Court judges is undesirable, hinting at the possibility of a direct motion for the appointment agreement.

This is KBS News' Jeong Jae-woo.