Fill the three vacant seats in the bench first
A tripartite consultative body among the government, the People Power Party (PPP) and the majority Democratic Party (DP) will have its first meeting on Thursday. The PPP and the DP will also pass more than 110 economy-related bills in the National Assembly today. But the most urgent thing now is minimizing the repercussions of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s abrupt declaration of emergency martial law. After the short-lived martial law, Korea’s stock market plunged and the won-dollar exchange rate soared, sounding alarms over the economy. Diplomacy is no exception. The government cannot even communicate with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump since Yoon was suspended from his duty two weeks ago.
To overcome national confusion from Yoon’s impeachment, the government must minimize uncertainties in governance. At the moment, both parties are sharply split over two special counsel bills to investigate the lead-up to martial law and probe the power abuse by the first lady and over the appointments of three Constitutional Court justices whose seats are empty in the nine-member bench. The two special counsel bills run the risk of violating the Constitution because only the DP is allowed to recommend candidates for special prosecutors. The two parties can easily reach an agreement on filling the three vacant seats in the bench. But PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong claims that the acting president has no authority to appoint justices of the court.
Most scholars find no problem with the acting president appointing the three justices as they were recommended by the legislature. The Constitutional Court Act stipulates that at least seven justices are needed to deliberate on the constitutionality of an impeachment motion. But the court said that its current six-member bench can weigh the constitutionality of the motion. If a grave case like the presidential impeachment is to be determined by an incomplete bench, controversy is unavoidable. The best way to minimize this national confusion is to appoint three new justices and let them help decide Yoon’s political future.
The PPP must not deepen the national chaos the president invited out of the blue. We urge the party to accept the idea of filling the three empty seats in the bench in today’s meeting of the body. If the PPP continues dragging its feet with no justification, the acting president can resolve it. For how long does he want to leave the court in limbo? If the PPP is unwilling to cooperate for the appointments of three justices, the acting president can appoint them. The DP has threatened to impeach the acting president if he doesn’t appoint them. The prime minister must not invite a bigger crisis for the country. There’s no justification for delaying the appointments.
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