Criticizes current candidates as biased and lacking diversity


The main opposition Democratic United Party on Sunday called for the Supreme Court justice nominees to be reselected, claiming the current lineup to be biased and lacking in diversity.

“As the 13 nominees selected by the justice nominee selection committee are at odds with the public’s will, we firmly request a reselection,” said a statement released by 20 DUP lawmakers at a joint press conference.

The lawmakers were former members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee or former legal professionals.

“Not only are there no female nominees, but most of them are considered extremely conservative,” they said during the conference held at the National Assembly.

“The (candidates) were chosen only for diversity in terms of their seniority, region and school, rather than by gender or personal beliefs, which were completely overlooked,” they said.

On Friday, the Supreme Court’s nomination committee named 13 men to be considered for the posts to replace retiring justices Park Ill-hoan, Kim Nung-hwan, Jeon Soo-ahn and Ahn Dai-hee, whose terms end in July. Four of the nominees will be selected by Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae for presidential approval before being appointed as justices. Their final appointment also requires approval by the National Assembly.

Nine of the nominees including vice minister of National Court Administration Koh Young-han, Seoul Administrative Court chief Cho Byung-hyun, Seoul Western District Court chief Kang Young-ho and Ulsan District Court chief Kim Shin currently hold high-ranking judicial posts.

Three are prosecutors: Ahn Chang-ho from the Seoul Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, Kim Hong-il, chief of the Busan Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, and Kim Byeong-hwa, chief of the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office. Seoul National University School of Law professor Yune Jin-su is the only civilian included on the list.

The DUP lawmakers singled out Kim Hong-il, who was the lead prosecutor in the probe into the BBK fraud case, claiming he was unfit for the post. BBK was an investment company established in 1999 that was involved in a stock-rigging scam.

The company’s CEO Kim Kyung-joon had claimed that President Lee Myung-bak was the actual owner of the company. Investigations launched in 2007, however, found Kim guilty and President Lee was found innocent of charges.

The opposition parties have continued to challenge the findings and demand a reinvestigation into the case.

“This (Kim Hong-il’s nomination) cannot happen at a time when a parliamentary investigation should be launched,” the DUP lawmakers said.

“There is speculation that Cheong Wa Dae influenced the nominations. The selection process should be revealed transparently,” they said.

The DUP statement follows a series of comments from high-ranking DUP officials.

On Saturday DUP Floor Leader Park Jie-won wrote on his Twitter account that the selection lacked diversity and female nominees, and that the issue of the BBK fraud case was also involved.

He was also quoted as saying that if Kim Hong-il was appointed as a Supreme Court justice, the BBK case could either become permanently buried or result in investigation of justices.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)