Appointment of last judge on hold

[Anchor]

Acting President Choi Sang-mok has still not appointed one Constitutional Court judge.

The candidate is Ma Eun-hyuk.

The Constitutional Court's decision on whether this is unconstitutional or not will be announced tomorrow (Feb. 3).

While the result is noteworthy, there is also keen interest in what choice Acting President Choi Sang-mok will make after the decision.

Reporter Shin Ji-hye has investigated the current atmosphere.

[Report]

At the end of last year, Acting President Choi Sang-mok appointed two of the three Constitutional Court judges elected by the National Assembly.

Only the progressive candidate Ma Eun-hyuk was put on hold, stating that "agreement between the ruling and opposition parties is necessary."

[Choi Sang-mok/Acting President/Dec. 31, 2024: "I will appoint the candidates Jeong Gye-seon and Jo Han-chang immediately today, and I will appoint the remaining one as soon as the agreement between the ruling and opposition parties is confirmed."]

In response, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik filed a request for a constitutional dispute adjudication, claiming that Acting President Choi infringed on the National Assembly's right to elect Constitutional Court judges. The constitutionality will be determined tomorrow, which comes a month later.

Acting President Choi plans to decide on the appointment after observing the Constitutional Court's ruling.

For now, it has been confirmed that he will "respect the Constitutional Court's decision."

A government official stated, "Acting President Choi maintains the existing position that 'agreement between the ruling and opposition parties is necessary for the appointment of judges,' but he will respect the conclusion that comes out according to judicial procedures."

However, it seems that Acting President Choi will not immediately appoint candidate Ma even if the Constitutional Court rules 'unconstitutional.'

There is no clear regulation on when judges must be appointed, and the Constitutional Court has stated that "the situation after the decision is up to the National Assembly," indicating that it cannot enforce the implementation of the decision.

In this regard, the legal representative of Acting President Choi submitted an opinion to the Constitutional Court yesterday, stating that the National Assembly Speaker cannot file a request for constitutional dispute adjudication without a vote in the plenary session, and the request should be dismissed.

The presidential office, which had protested with mass resignations during the appointment of two Constitutional Court judges, is reported to have indirectly conveyed to Acting President Choi that no additional appointments should be made.

This is KBS News Shin Ji-hye.