South Korea: National Assembly Speaker Urges Acting President Choi to Appoint Judge at Constitutional Court
Click to start listening
Seoul, Jan 2 (NationPress) South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik on Thursday urged acting President Choi Sang-mok to fill the final vacancy at the Constitutional Court, as Choi appointed two justices, thereby partially responding to the opposition's request to fill three vacancies ahead of a ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
Earlier this week, Choi deferred the nomination of the opposition-backed justice Ma Eun-hyuk until an agreement is reached between the opposing parties.
In a post on Facebook, Woo asserted that the three judges were nominated through agreements established between the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the opposition Democratic Party (DP).
Sharing documentation and statements from the leaders of both parties, Woo stated, "It is confirmed that the ruling and opposition parties have come to an agreement (on the recommendation of three judges), and acting President Choi should promptly appoint Ma as a judge of the Constitutional Court."
The DP had insisted that former acting President Han Duck-soo appoint the three justices immediately after the motions for their appointments cleared the opposition-led National Assembly.
After Han declined last week, the DP expedited the motions and impeached Han, suspending him from duty and placing Choi as the interim leader, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
Legally, a minimum of six votes is required to uphold an impeachment motion, indicating that the appointment of three additional justices could enhance the likelihood of Yoon's impeachment being confirmed.
The PPP expressed strong disappointment regarding Choi's appointments, accusing him of yielding to the opposition's pressures and threats of also impeaching Choi if he did not proceed with the nominations.
