Acting President Choi appoints two Constitutional Court justices

[Anchor]

Good evening, everyone.

This is a special KBS 9 o'clock news.

On the last day of 2024, a year that felt like a decade, an arrest warrant for the president was issued.

And the acting president exercised his authority.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok appointed two out of three candidates for the Constitutional Court and sent two special investigation laws back to the National Assembly.

Reporter Woo Jeong-hwa reports on Acting President Choi Sang-mok's decisions.

[Report]

The issue of appointing Constitutional Court judges has led to a 'Deputy Prime Minister as Acting President' system for the first time in South Korea's constitutional history.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok's choice was to prioritize appointing two of the three candidates as Constitutional Court justices.

He first appointed candidates Cho Han-chang and Jung Gye-seon, recommended by the ruling and opposition parties, and stated that he would appoint the opposition's candidate, Ma Eun-hyeok, if there was an agreement between the parties.

[Choi Sang-mok/Acting President: "We decided to appoint Constitutional Court judges out of a sense of urgency to end political uncertainty and social conflict, and to block the possibility of economic and livelihood crises."]

As a result, the Constitutional Court will change from a six-member system to an eight-member system, allowing for the impeachment trial and decisions regarding President Yoon without controversy.

However, Acting President Choi exercised the right to request reconsideration regarding the rwo special investigation laws regarding the suspicion of insurrection and Mrs. Kim Keon-hee.

He cited that allowing the opposition to effectively recommend special investigation candidates is unconstitutional and violates the spirit of the separation of powers.

[Choi Sang-mok/Acting President: "I have pondered countless times whether it is a responsible stance to promulgate laws that have many unconstitutional elements and raise concerns from the perspective of national interest and citizens' basic rights."]

Acting President Choi then requested the political sphere to resolve the constitutional issues of the special investigation laws.

The two special investigation laws returned to the National Assembly will be automatically discarded if they do not receive a majority of attendance and two-thirds approval from the attending members in a re-vote.

This is KBS News, Woo Jeong-hwa.