President and Supreme Court Chief Justice face off in an all-out confrontation, putting pressure on the judiciary and shaking the separation of powers - South Korea

[Seoul Current Affairs] South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae are engaged in an all-out confrontation over the appointment of judges. Since last year, Lee and the progressive ruling party, the Democratic Party of Japan, which has five criminal cases pending, have put pressure on the Supreme Court through ``judicial reform.'' It has been pointed out that the separation of powers is being shaken.

``Constitutionally, the National Assembly and the president cannot be involved in the personnel affairs of the Supreme Court at all.'' On the 6th, Mr. Cho, who was summoned to the National Assembly's audit of national affairs, read out a prepared document and directly opposed Mr. Lee.

The Constitution only states that ``Judges of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President upon proposal by the Chief Justice and with the consent of the National Assembly.'' On August 18, Mr. Cho submitted a personnel proposal that does not meet Mr. Lee's wishes regarding the replacement of the Supreme Court judge who retired in March. On August 28, the Blue House responded by saying, ``The right to make proposals should be exercised in a way that respects the president's right to make appointments,'' (spokesman) and demanded that the proposal be resubmitted, but Cho refused.

Mr. Lee and Mr. Cho have a deep connection. In May of last year, just before the presidential election, Mr. Cho, as presiding judge, handed down a remand judgment that found Mr. Lee guilty of violating the Public Elections Act. Both Democrats strongly objected, saying that after the high court's acquittal in March of the same year, the Supreme Court hurriedly issued its ruling in an attempt to influence the presidential election. After the Lee administration took office, it carried out a series of legal reforms, including introducing penalties for judges and prosecutors who apply laws in a distorted manner, and increasing the number of Supreme Court justices from 14 to 26.

There is a continuing view that Mr. Lee, with an eye on resuming trials after his retirement, is increasing pressure on the judiciary and increasing the proportion of Supreme Court justices he appoints. One political scientist criticizes Mr. Lee, saying, ``Mr. Lee is so nervous about his own criminal trial that he is trying to control the judiciary.''

Mr. Lee, who is known as a ``populist'', stated at a press conference in September last year, ``There is a hierarchy of power.The highest power is the people, then the directly elected power, and then the indirectly elected power,'' clearly indicating that of the three powers, the legislature (National Assembly) and the executive (president) are superior to the judiciary.

On the other hand, Mr. Cho is strongly conservative and is a ``principled person'' who does not hesitate to advocate even the minority opinion. There are no signs that either side will budge, and it is predicted that the conflict will continue until Cho retires in June next year.