{
  "id": 2678819,
  "title": "How will the unilateral exercise of the Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hwi-dae's recommendation right be resolved?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/story-2678819",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-22T22:12:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hankyoreh",
    "slug": "hankyoreh",
    "url": "https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/politics/politics_general/1274152.html"
  },
  "original_language": "ko",
  "account": "The constitutional provision 104(2) states that the president appoints judges to the Supreme Court upon receiving the recommendation of the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice has the power to recommend, the National Assembly holds the approval power, and the president holds the appointment power. If the Chief Justice does not recommend anyone, the National Assembly does not approve, and the president does not appoint, then no judge can be appointed. In particular, if the Chief Justice and the president each choose different individuals, the judge appointment process may not proceed at all. The reason they made the practice of appointing after prior discussions between the president and the Chief Justice is because of this. The Chief Justice cannot arbitrarily recommend a judge from the bench. The Judicial Organization Act established a Judicial Candidate Recommendation Committee to have the Chief Justice recommend a judge for approval. The Chief Justice must respect the recommendations of the committee. The committee consists of 10 members including the chairperson when the Chief Justice recommends a judge. The members include a senior judge, the head of the judicial affairs office, the minister of justice, the president of the Korean Bar Association, the president of the Korean Law Teachers Association, the president of the Law School Association, a non-judge expert in law, and three lawyers with outstanding academic achievements and extensive professional experience (with at least one being a woman). After the committee recommends a judge, it dissolves. In March of this year, the Judicial Candidate Recommendation Committee that dismissed Judge Taek-yong discharged his replacement. The committee, chaired by Choi Jae-chun, recommended Kim Min-gi of the Wonju District Court, Park Sun-young of the Seoul High Court, Son Bong-gi of the Gwangju District Court, and Yun Seok-seok of the Seoul District Court. In line with the practice, the executive branch and the Supreme Court followed the discussion. The executive branch hoped for the female progressive-leaning Kim Min-gi, but Chief Justice Jo Hui-dean stubbornly opposed her. It took seven months, but the judge finally retired, and no replacement was appointed. In the meantime, Yun Seok-seok, the former head of the Special Prosecutor's Office, was appointed chief judge of the Central Election Management Commission. Separately, in September, a new Judicial Candidate Recommendation Committee chaired by Kim Eun-ji was formed to appoint a replacement for the retiring Lee Hyo-guk. The committee recommended Kwon Moon-gwan of the Busan High Court, Kim Seong-su of the Seoul High Court, Kim Byeong-yeong of the Seoul Southern District Court, and Kim Jeong-jung of the Gwangju District Court. Kim Hui-dean made a sudden move by arbitrarily recommending Yun Bong-gi and Kim Seong-su together in writing. It appeared to be a move similar to the situation when this presidential candidate was under indictment for election law violations. If the Supreme Court had annulled the indictment of the presidential candidate, the nation would have erupted in a civic revolution. The current constitutional crisis would have ended the Supreme Court. Past examples show that when presidents and Chief Justices disagreed, they eventually reached compromises. From President Noh Myung-bok and Chief Justice Seo Myung-in to President Lee Myung-bak and Chief Justice Yoo Jae-suk, these examples show the importance of compromise.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}