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Acting President of the Constitutional Court Moon Hyung-bae (right) and Justice Lee Mi-seon take their seats at the courtroom of the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, Seoul, on April 13, ahead of the rulings on the impeachment trials of Choi Jae-hae, chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and prosecutors Lee Chang-soo, Cho Sang-won, and Choi Jae-hoon. / Source: ASIATODAY, photo by Park Seong-il

South Korea’s Constitutional Court has ruled that Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s nomination of two justices to the court is unconstitutional, effectively halting the appointment process until the outcome of a constitutional petition is determined. The decision signals that the appointments will likely be left to the next administration.

On April 16, the court unanimously approved a request for an injunction filed by attorney Kim Jeong-hwan of law firm Dodam, seeking to suspend the legal effect of Han’s nominations. Han had named Lee Wan-kyu, head of the Ministry of Government Legislation, and Ham Sang-hoon, a presiding judge at the Seoul High Court, as candidates. The court ruled that the appointments will be suspended until a final verdict on the constitutional petition is reached.

Han argued that the nominations were merely an "expression of intent" rather than formal appointments, and thus should not be subject to review. However, the Constitutional Court rejected this claim.

The court concluded that a prime minister serving as acting president does not have the authority to nominate Constitutional Court justices. It stated that this would violate individuals’ right to a fair trial, as citizens would be judged by justices who were not appointed in accordance with constitutional procedures.

Refuting Han’s claim of a “simple declaration of intent,” the court stated in its ruling, “By nominating the candidates, Acting President Han has officially initiated the appointment process, and it is now highly likely that they will be confirmed through a National Assembly hearing in the near future.”

The justices also noted the risk that Han could appoint the nominees without a parliamentary hearing, creating an urgent need to protect the right to a legitimate judicial process. Hence, the injunction was necessary.

As a result of the ruling, successors to current justices Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-seon—who are set to retire on April 18—will now likely be selected by the next president. The Constitutional Court is expected to continue functioning with only seven sitting justices until new appointments are made.

Han’s nomination on April 8 prompted a wave of constitutional complaints and injunction requests from legal circles, with critics arguing that the authority to appoint justices is an exclusive presidential power and cannot be exercised by an acting president.

The court received Kim’s petition on April 9, randomly assigned Justice Ma Eun-hyuk as the presiding judge, and formally accepted the case on April 11. The justices held deliberations over two consecutive days before reaching their decision.