Acting Pres. Han refuses to appoint Constitutional Court justice

Acting President Han Duck-soo announced Thursday that he would withhold appointments to the Constitutional Court until a bipartisan agreement is reached, raising questions about whether “it conforms to our constitutional principles for the acting president to make a political decision without bipartisan consensus?” The remarks came after the National Assembly passed motions approving the appointment of three Constitutional Court justices earlier in the day. The move effectively rejects demands from the opposition Democratic Party, which had called for the immediate appointment of the justices.

The Democratic Party swiftly condemned Acting President Han's announcement as an "official declaration not to appoint Constitutional Court justices" and submitted an impeachment motion against him to the National Assembly the same day, scheduling a vote on the motion for Friday at 2 p.m. during a plenary session, accelerating the timeline initially planned for a vote by the following Monday. With Acting President Han becoming the target of impeachment just 12 days after assuming his role, the situation is expected to create domestic and international uncertainty, potentially impacting South Korea's credibility. Additionally, a fierce standoff between the ruling and opposition parties over the quorum required for impeaching an acting president appears inevitable.

Acting President Han delivered an unscheduled emergency address to the nation at 1:40 p.m., just before a plenary session of the National Assembly. “The consistent principle of our Constitution and laws is that an acting president should focus on ensuring stable governance to help the nation overcome crises while refraining from exercising significant presidential powers, including the appointment of constitutional officers,” he said, adding, “If it becomes unavoidable to exercise such powers, it has always been the unbroken precedent in our constitutional history that bipartisan agreement in the National Assembly, representing the people, should come first.” “I firmly believe that lawmakers from both parties will demonstrate such leadership as they must. Once a bipartisan agreement is reached, I will immediately appoint the Constitutional Court justices,” he said, expressing confidence in party leadership.

Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae criticized Acting President Han’s address to the nation, saying, “This statement is an acknowledgment that he is not an acting president but a ‘proxy for insurrection.’” Park continued, “He has already exercised the most active authority by vetoing legislation, yet he refuses to fulfill the most procedural responsibility of appointing Constitutional Court justices, which is nothing but sophistry.” He further asserted, “It has become clear that Acting President Han is a key participant in the recent insurrection,” and vowed to move forward with his immediate impeachment.

Despite a boycott by lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party, opposition members approved the appointment of three candidates - Ma Eun-hyuk, Jeong Gye-seon, and Cho Han-chang - as Constitutional Court justices. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik urged the acting president to act swiftly. “This procedure is outlined in Article 6 of the Constitutional Court Act, which states that three Constitutional Court justices are to be appointed from those selected by the National Assembly,” he said, urging, “Now that the parliamentary process for appointing the justices has been completed, the appointments should be finalized without delay.”


Hyung-Jun Hwang constant25@donga.com