Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Acting president's pick for Constitutional Court justice sparks controversy
Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu answers questions during the plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Anna J. Park
Appointment called unconstitutional by legal experts; opposition slams it as proxy move by ex-president
Acting President Han Duck-soo is facing a backlash after abruptly appointing successors to two Constitutional Court justices whose terms expire on April 18.
Legal experts contend that an acting president does not hold the authority to unilaterally appoint Constitutional Court justices — a power traditionally reserved for a sitting president. However, the bigger controversy stems from the qualifications of one of the two nominees.
Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu, one of the two Constitutional Court appointees named by the acting president, is not only a close confidant of former President Yoon Suk Yeol but is also under investigation for alleged involvement in a treason plot connected to Yoon’s martial law plan.
Lee has long been a pro-Yoon figure, with a relationship spanning over four decades. He and Yoon both graduated from Seoul National University and were classmates at the Judicial Research and Training Institute after passing the bar exam. Lee later served as Yoon’s attorney in a lawsuit challenging a disciplinary action brought by the Ministry of Justice during Yoon’s tenure as prosecutor general.
Lee was reportedly one of four individuals who met with Yoon the day after the Dec. 3 martial law declaration to discuss how to handle the aftermath. He is currently under investigation by both the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the police as a suspect in the treason case. Following the meeting, Lee allegedly changed his mobile phone — an action the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) characterized as an attempt to destroy evidence. The party has since filed insurrection charges against him.
This has led to claims that the appointment was not genuinely Han’s decision, but rather a proxy move made on behalf of the impeached former president.
Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu gets in an elevator at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
The Korean Law Professors Association has criticized Han’s nomination of the justice candidates as a preemptive usurpation of powers that rightfully belong to the next elected president, calling it a clear and serious violation of the Constitution.
Article 111 of Korea’s Constitution states: “The Constitutional Court shall be composed of nine justices, and the justices shall be appointed by the President. Among them, three shall be selected by the National Assembly, and three shall be nominated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.”
This means the president holds the authority to nominate and appoint three of the nine justices. The legal community says that an acting president does not have the constitutional authority to appoint these justices, as the role is specifically reserved for the president.
"We firmly reject acting President Han Duck-soo’s unconstitutional nomination and appointment of Constitutional Court justices, and strongly urge the immediate withdrawal of the nomination," the law professors' association said. "As merely an acting president, the prime minister holds none of the democratic legitimacy conferred upon a president ... By its very nature, the position of acting president is temporary and transitional."
Civic organizations also filed a police complaint against the acting president on Wednesday, accusing him of abuse of power for nominating two Constitutional Court justice candidates designated as the president’s picks.
Civil group representatives hold a press conference in front of Seoul Government Complex in central Seoul, Wednesday, announcing that they filed a complaint against acting President Han Duck-soo for abuse of power over his nomination of a new Constitutional Court justice. Yonhap
The National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed an amendment to the Constitutional Court Act aimed at preventing an acting president from appointing justices designated as presidential nominees. The amendment was approved with 11 votes in favor out of the 15 members present.
The revision stipulates that if the presidency is vacant or suspended, the acting president may appoint only the three justices selected by the National Assembly and the three recommended by the chief justice of the Supreme Court — but not the three designated as the president’s picks.
In addition, the committee added a proviso stating that the revised law would also apply to any appointment procedures already underway at the time the law takes effect. This means the appointment process for the two justices nominated by Han this week could be subject to the new law.
If the opposition brings the bill to a plenary vote and passes it, it could block Han’s appointments. However, Han could exercise a veto, as the acting president, to nullify the law.
Meanwhile, a constitutional petition and an injunction request to suspend the effect of the appointments were also filed with the Constitutional Court on Wednesday.