High Court Candidate List Submitted

The Korean Bar Association submitted a list of 15 candidates to the chief justice on May 29, the deadline for recommending new Supreme Court justices candidates.

By not revealing the list of candidates, the Korean Bar Association altered its original plan to notify its choices to the public.

A person connected to the association said, “We had discussions regarding opening the list to the public but decided to follow the regulations of the Supreme Court to make the recommendations closed. Therefore, we did not make the list public nor the reason for the selection.”

The Korean Bar Association stated that it recommended seven incumbent presidents of the court, four head judges of the High Court, three lawyers, and a professor. The group of lawyers includes those with head judge and prosecution backgrounds.

Citizens United for Better Society, a moderate conservative civil organization, also made a recommendation of six candidates as new Supreme Court justices, which include a head judge, a prosecutor, and a scholar, to the chief justice on the same day.

The number of candidates recommended by civil organizations, the labor union of the court, and lawyer associations between May 23-29, which was the period to submit recommendations, is estimated to be much above 20.

Committee of Counselors on Supreme Court Justice Recommendation will hold a meeting on June 5 and reduce the number to around 15, about three times the number of vacancies.

Chief Justice Lee Yong-hun will recommend his choice for the five candidates to the president between June 7-9.

needjung@donga.com