With retirements of Moon Hyung-bae, Lee Mi-son, top court's bench now down to 7 justices
Constitutional Court of Korea Justices Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-son said the South Korea's Constitution and any ruling by the court must be abided by, as the order of the sovereign people, because otherwise social instability will ensue, as Friday marked the end of their six-year terms as justices on the bench, two weeks after the same court removed disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol from office in a unanimous 8-0 ruling.
In a farewell speech, Moon, who served as the acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court, said, "(the Constitutional Court's) decisions must be respected."
He highlighted the Constitutional Court's role in resolving deadlock, or disputes over authority, between the executive and legislative branches through making "factual and valid decisions," followed by respect for such rulings from these branches as institutions established under the Constitution.
The process of how the Constitution is interpreted, developed and implemented based on checks and balances shall be further strengthened through respect for the Constitutional Court's decisions, Moon said.
Outgoing Justice Lee said in her speech that state institutions must abide by the Constitution, which is the order of the people, the sovereigns of the country, and serves as a prerequisite for the existence of a free democratic nation.
“If state institutions do not abide by the Constitution and ignore it, that shakes the social order supporting our society," she said in her farewell speech.
Their historic decision on April 4 upheld the parliament's motion to impeach Yoon for violating the law and democratic principles in leading a self-coup by declaring martial law Dec. 3.
Before the landmark 8-0 decision, the Constitutional Court had constantly been under attack by Yoon's legal team and the ruling People Power Party, who claimed "political bias" and demanded Moon be recused from Yoon's impeachment trial.
Moon said in his farewell speech that while academic debates and criticism can of course be permitted, any ad hominem arguments attacking the justices personally cannot be tolerated.
Moving forward, Justice Kim Hyung-du will serve as the acting chief justice, taking Moon's place.
Moon and Lee were both nominated by liberal former President Moon Jae-in in 2019 and served six-year terms.
The two outgoing justices' posts will remain vacant for the time being, at least until South Korea's new president takes office after the June 3 election.
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday suspended in a unanimous 9-0 ruling the effect of conservative acting President Han Duck-soo’s nomination of two Constitutional Court justice candidates to replace Moon and Lee.
The suspension will last until the court delivers a final ruling in the future over attorney Kim Jung-hwan's filing of an injunction challenging the legality of Han's nomination of two right-leaning figures -- Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu and senior judge Ham Sang-hoon.
The court found Wednesday that it cannot assume that an acting president may exercise the authority to independently nominate justices, given that they are not an elected leader.
In South Korea, the nine-member bench of the Constitutional Court consists of three judges appointed by the president, three recommended by the chief justice of the Supreme Court and three selected by the National Assembly, under the principle of the tripartite separation of powers. They each serve a six-year term.
Wednesday's court ruling suggested that the court will rule that the country's president is the only eligible person to appoint replacements for Moon and Lee. The current front-runner in the presidential race slated for June 3 is Rep. Lee Jae-myung, former chair of the Democratic Party of Korea.
Wednesday's verdict stated that the seven-member bench could hear and decide the case, but that in cases where the direction of the case might change depending on the opinions of the remaining two justices, hearings and the decision could wait until the two justices are appointed.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
