Bong-wook (56/19th Judicial Research and Training Institute), former deputy chief prosecutor, Cheon Dae-yeop (57/21), chief judge of the Seoul High Court, and Son Bong-ki (56/22), Daegu District Court chief, were nominated for the next Supreme Court. If the final nominee passes the approval of the National Assembly, he becomes the 12th Supreme Court Justice of the Moon Jae-in government, including Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo.
Prosecutor Bong-wook, a leading candidate
From left, candidates Bong-wook, Cheon Dae-yeop, and Son Bong-ki.
On the afternoon of the 22nd, the Supreme Court Candidate Recommendation Committee held a meeting and announced that it had nominated three candidates to replace Justice Park Sang-ok, who retired in May. The committee consists of 10 members, including Chairman Kim Hye-suk (Ewha Womans University Philosophy Professor Emeritus), Justice Minister Park Beom-gye, Cho Jae-yeon, court administration chief, and Lee Jong-yup, president of the Korean Bar Association.
Candidate Bong-wook, former deputy chief prosecutor, is evaluated as a leading candidate in terms of the diversity of the judiciary. The predecessor, Justice Park Sang-ok, is the only prosecutor of the 14 Supreme Court Justices. After graduating from Seoul National University Law School, Candidate Bong began his career as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office in 1993, where he was the head of the Human Rights Bureau of the Ministry of Justice and the Seoul East District Prosecutor’s Office. After serving as the deputy prosecutor of the Great Swordsman in 2017, he competed with former president Yoon Suk-yeol for the position of prosecutor general. Currently working as a lawyer.
Candidate Bong and a lawyer at the Judicial Research and Training Institute said in a call with the JoongAng Ilbo that “I’m a prosecutor, but I’m not biased to either side, and I hear the evaluation that it is okay.”
‘Our Law’ eliminated the political line… “It seems to have picked a good person”
Deputy Judge Cheon Dae-yeop, a graduate of the Seoul National University Law School, began his career as a judge at the Eastern Branch of the Seoul District Court in 1995, and served as a judge of the Supreme Court and the Deputy Judge of the Seoul Central District Court. Son Bong-gi, who is a graduate of the Law School of Korea University, began his career as a judge in the Daegu District Court, where he served as the Daegu District Court Resident Support Officer and the Daegu District Law Department Chief Judge. It is a representative’Daegu Hyangpan’ where most of the life of a judge was lived in Daegu.
Judge Jeong Gye-seon, chief judge of the Seoul Western District Law, and Jung Jun-young, chief judge of the Seoul High Court, were not among the final candidates. Deputy Judge Gye-seon Jeong was a member of the Korean Law Research Association, a group of progressive judges, and was mentioned as a leading candidate. In the trial of former President Lee Myung-bak’s first trial, it was decided that “dozens belonged to the former president.” Deputy Judge Jung Joon-young sentenced Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was involved in’Gukjeong Nongdan’, to a jail sentence in an appeals trial and arrested the court.
A judge in the court said, “There was a controversy about’code personnel’ in the court recently, and this time it seems to have recommended a relatively good candidate.”
Supreme Court Chief Kim Myung-soo asks President Moon Jae-in to appoint one of the three after collecting opinions on the 23rd and 29th. When President Moon accepts the proposal of Supreme Court Chief Kim and requests the National Assembly to agree to appoint candidates, the National Assembly passes a personnel hearing and votes on the approval proposal at the plenary session. After passing the plenary session, President Moon makes a formal appointment.
Reporter Dr. Ra [email protected]
