Yoon nominates Lee Jong-seok as next chief of Constitutional Court

President Yoon Suk Yeol named Justice Lee Jong-seok, 62, as the next chief of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday.

Constitutional Court Justice Lee Jong-seok heads into the court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Wednesday morning. President Yoon Suk Yeol tapped him as the Constitutional Court chief nominee later that day. [NEWS1]

President Yoon Suk Yeol named Justice Lee Jong-seok, 62, as the next chief of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday.

Serving on the bench for the past 29 years, Lee was appointed justice on the nine-member Constitutional Court in 2018, said Kim Dae-ki, presidential chief of staff, in a press briefing at Yongsan.

Lee will replace Yoo Nam-seok as the new Constitutional Court president after his retirement next month.

A native of North Gyeongsang, Lee was appointed for a six-year term as a Constitutional Court justice in October 2018 during the liberal Moon Jae-in administration on the recommendation of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, the predecessor of the governing People Power Party (PPP).

He previously served as a chief presiding judge at Seoul High Court and Seoul Central District Court and as a chief judge at Suwon District Court. He also has served as a judicial policy official in the National Court Administration under the Supreme Court.

"As an incumbent Constitutional Court justice in charge of constitutional trials for the past five years, he has taken the lead in protecting the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea based on his clear convictions and extensive legal knowledge," Kim said. "If he were to head the Constitutional Court in the future, he would realize a firm will to protect the Constitution while simultaneously holding a warm spirit to protect human rights, and will play a thorough role in coordinating and integrating the complex interests in our society."

If approved, Lee is likely to serve as Constitutional Court president just for the remaining 11 months of his six-year term as justice, set to expire in October 2024.

Thus, Yoon would have to get Lee to serve a second term at the end of his current term as justice or appoint another Constitutional Court president next year.

Although described as a conservative judge, legal circles have described Justice Lee as "a reasonable person" without strong ideological leanings.

Earlier this year, Justice Lee served as the presiding judge in the impeachment case against Interior Minister Lee Sang-min to hold him accountable for the government's bungled response to the Itaewon crowd crush of Oct. 29, 2022. In July, the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed the National Assembly's motion to impeach the interior minister.

The Constitutional Court chief nominee will be subject to a parliamentary confirmation hearing and a vote by the National Assembly, controlled by the liberal Democratic Party (DP).

Earlier this month, the National Assembly rejected Lee Gyun-ryong, Yoon's Supreme Court chief justice nominee. This marked the first such rejection in 35 years, as the DP cited his close personal ties with the president, among other allegations, leading to a prolonged leadership vacuum after Kim Myeong-su's six-year term as Supreme Court chief justice expired last month with his retirement.

Constitutional Court chief nominee Lee entered Seoul National University School of Law in 1979 and is a classmate of Yoon, a former prosecutor.

Regarding the DP's criticism of the two being classmates, a senior presidential official told reporters Wednesday, "It doesn't seem like they share a close relationship," saying that Yoon instead "looked at how the candidate could better lead the Constitutional Court and whether he had a sense of historical calling."

Regarding the Supreme Court chief justice vacancy, the official said the presidential office is "searching diligently again" for a new nominee and "will obtain parliamentary consent as soon as possible.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]