Presidential office urges prompt nominations to fill Supreme Court seats
South Korea’s presidential office said Thursday that reports claiming it supported calls to impeach Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae were “completely untrue.” The statement came as calls for Cho’s impeachment spread among some members of the ruling Democratic Party during its leadership election.
Presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung said the reports were inaccurate. “Reports that the presidential office agrees with the impeachment or departure of the chief justice are completely untrue,” she said.
The two Democratic Party leadership candidates, Kim Min-seok and Song Young-gil, had earlier stated that they would support an impeachment case against Cho.
Supreme Court justices are appointed by the president following nomination by the chief justice and approval by the National Assembly. The vacancies on the court stem from the departures of former Justices Noh Tae-ak and Lee Heung-gu.
Although the presidential office distanced itself from the proposed impeachment, it said the prolonged vacancies were a concern. “It is the position of the Presidential Office that nominations for the successor Justices should be made promptly according to the relevant legal procedures,” the office said.