A bill to amend the Constitutional Court Act, which prevents the acting president from appointing Constitutional Court justices designated by the president, passed the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee on the initiative of the Democratic Party of Korea on the 9th.
The amendment stipulates that the acting president can appoint only three justices elected by the National Assembly and three justices designated by the Chief Justice, while not being able to appoint the three justices designated by the president.
The Judiciary Committee also included a provision to retroactively apply the law's effect. Acting President Han Duck-soo designated Lee Wan-kyu, the Director General of the Ministry of Legislation, and Ham Sang-hoon, a chief judge of the Seoul High Court, as candidates for Constitutional Court justices the day before, but this will be invalidated if the bill passes the National Assembly.
Additionally, it included a provision stating that if the president does not appoint a candidate for the Constitutional Court justices elected by the National Assembly or designated by the Chief Justice within seven days, the candidate will be considered automatically appointed. The amendment also contains a clause to allow justices to continue their duties until successors are appointed, even if their terms expire. This is interpreted as a provision aimed at justices Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-sun, whose terms expire on the 18th.