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Constitutional Court set to rule on acting president's non-appointment of justice

Published: 27 Feb. 2025, 09:52

Acting President Choi Sang-mok speaks at Korea Forest Service govenrment complex in Daejeon on Feb. 26. [NEWS1]

The Constitutional Court is set to rule Thursday on the constitutionality of acting President Choi Sang-mok's decision to withhold the appointment of a ninth justice to the bench.

Choi appointed two justices to the court in December but held off on the appointment of opposition-recommended Justice candidate Ma Eun-hyuk, citing the need for a bipartisan consensus, which left the nine-member bench one justice short.

In response, Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik filed a competence dispute case against Choi, arguing the acting president's failure to appoint Ma violates the National Assembly's right to elect a Constitutional Court justice.

The court has notified both parties that it will make a decision on Ma's case at 10 a.m. Thursday.

If the court finds Choi's move unconstitutional, he will be required to appoint Ma, which could have an impact on the court's ongoing cases, such as the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law Dec. 3.

Consent by six justices is necessary to uphold his impeachment by the National Assembly.

If Ma is appointed, oral arguments for Yoon's impeachment trial, which concluded Tuesday, could be reopened to account for the justice. If the court dismisses the case, its current eight-member composition is expected to remain unchanged.

Yonhap