Is President Lee set to reject the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Son Bong-gi?

[Financial News] 

That was the demand issued on the 21st by lawmakers on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the pro-government Rebuilding Korea Party and Progressive Party. They urged that the nomination of Judge Son Bong-gi of the Daegu District Court, one of the Supreme Court justice successors nominated in writing by Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, be rejected because there had been no prior consultation.
According to the ruling bloc, Noh Gyeong-pil, head of the National Court Administration, discussed the nomination of Seoul High Court Presiding Judge Kim Sung-soo as a successor Supreme Court justice with the Presidential Office's senior civil affairs secretary. However, the list of successors that Chief Justice Cho sent in writing to President Lee, breaking with precedent, included Judge Son as well as Judge Kim. The government and the ruling party are protesting that this was an act of disregard for the administration.
At a press conference that day, the ruling bloc's judiciary committee members said, "The Supreme Court notified Cheong Wa Dae at noon on the 18th of Judge Son Bong-gi, a candidate who had not been agreed upon at all with the president, and then sent an official document that afternoon to make the nomination in writing." They added, "Yet the National Court Administration appeared before the committee and said it had 'no opportunity to meet the president' and had 'consulted with the senior civil affairs secretary,' shifting blame to the Presidential Office as if it were the victim." They continued, "If we accept Judge Son's nomination without proper consultation and procedure, it will set yet another bad precedent."
They also pointed to the nomination dispute under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration and called it a double standard. In 2023, then-President Yoon warned that his appointment authority took precedence over a Supreme Court justice candidate nominated by then-Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo. Chief Justice Kim had been appointed under the Moon Jae-in administration, creating an uneasy coexistence. After considerable friction, however, the Presidential Office and the Supreme Court eventually reached an agreement on the candidate.
The committee members said, "Just like Kim Myung-soo, Chief Justice Cho also dutifully respected the appointment authority of his appointing president, Yoon Suk Yeol. He made three nominations, which took an average of 11 days, and followed custom by meeting Yoon directly." They added, "But after President Lee took office, the nomination process took as long as 209 days, and behind the scenes they secretly called the candidates to pressure them into stepping down. Both the candidate agreement and the written nominations were one-way only."
They went on to say, "Cho Hee-dae is one with Yoon Suk Yeol and Yoon's last line of defense. We must not be dragged into Cho's slander, which is aimed at reviving Yoon, the ringleader of the insurrection." They added, "Do not destroy democracy any further like Yoon. Apologize before the people and resign immediately."
[email protected] Kim Yun-ho Reporter