Justice Lee Heung-koo steps down from South Korea's Supreme Court on the 7th, leaving the bench with two vacancies as a standoff between the presidential office and the judiciary has stalled the appointment of a successor to former Justice Noh Tae-ak for more than six months. Concerns are mounting that the twin vacancies could disrupt the operation of the court's smaller panels and the review of major cases.
Lee retires on the 7th after completing a six-year term, according to legal circles on the 6th. He was appointed in September 2020 on the nomination of former Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su. A native of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, Lee graduated from Seoul National University's public law department and began his judicial career in 1993 at the Seoul District Court's southern branch, later serving mainly in Busan, Changwon and Daegu.
With Noh having stepped down in March without a successor in place, Lee's departure brings the number of vacant Supreme Court seats to two. Kim Sung-soo, a senior judge at the Seoul High Court nominated to succeed Lee, is currently undergoing the National Assembly's confirmation process. The Assembly plans to hold a confirmation hearing on the 14th and convene a full committee meeting on the 16th to adopt a report on the hearing. A plenary vote on the consent motion and the presidential appointment must follow, meaning the court is likely to operate with two vacancies for at least around 10 days.
The immediate impact will be felt in the operation of the court's smaller panels. The third panel, to which Lee belongs, has already been reduced to three justices after Justice Noh Kyung-pil was named head of the National Court Administration in July. With Lee's retirement, only two of the panel's four seats will be filled. That has raised the possibility that the Supreme Court will reorganize its panels by adjusting case assignments.
The bigger problem is the appointment of Noh Tae-ak's successor. In January, the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee put forward four candidates: Kim Min-ki and Park Soon-young, senior judges at the Seoul High Court; Yoon Sung-sik, a chief judge at the Seoul High Court; and Son Bong-gi, a chief judge at the Daegu District Court. But disagreement between the presidential office and the judiciary over the final nomination has left the post without a nominee for about seven months.
Chief Justice Jo Hee-de nominated Son in writing on the 18th of last month, but the presidential office called it a nomination that "did not meet procedural completeness" on the 28th of the same month and demanded a new nomination. Jo had initially planned to announce his official position this week, but the announcement was delayed after he was unable to wrap up internal discussions due to circumstances including his father's death.
Legal circles say Jo may form a new Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee and restart the recommendation process from the beginning. Under the Court Organization Act, a recommendation committee must be formed each time the chief justice nominates a candidate for the Supreme Court. In that case, a new round of recommendations, vetting and nomination would be required, potentially prolonging the vacancy left by Noh Tae-ak.
A prolonged vacancy is also expected to add strain to the full bench. While the full bench can hear cases even with some seats vacant, major cases are awaiting review, including the "three allegations" case involving Kim Keon-hee, the wife of the former president, and the insurrection cases involving former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min. Observers say that leaves considerable pressure if the vacancies drag on.
