Prime Minister Han Sung-sook calls for clarity on powers to appoint Supreme Court justices

Prime Minister Han Sung-sook said on the 7th that the scope of appointment powers should be clarified amid a dispute between the presidential office and the Supreme Court over resubmitting nominations for Supreme Court justices. She said legal experts need to establish how far those powers extend.

Speaking at a press gathering at the prime minister's official residence in Sejong, Han said nomination and appointment powers had been exercised through customary practice without clear definitions. She added that there would be no problem if the two powers were clearly defined in law and institutional rules.

Han questioned whether the president could be said to have appointment powers if the chief justice holds nomination powers and the president must accept nominations as submitted. She also said she had not heard an answer to that question.

She also raised the appointing authority's power to reject a nomination. Han asked how the process would differ from the chief justice making the appointment directly if nominations could not be rejected, and whether the prime minister's nomination powers should have a different name if they differ from those of the chief justice.

Han said she believed it was time to clarify the definitions of nomination and appointment powers. She added that clarifying the two powers could help keep the dispute from becoming a prolonged war of attrition.