Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo appointed Constitutional Court Justice Ma Eon-hyuk on the 8th. He also nominated Lee Wan-kyu, the Minister of Legislation, and Ham Sang-hoon, a Chief Justice at the Seoul High Court, as successors to Justices Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-seon, who are retiring ten days before the end of their term. Justice Ma has already completed the National Assembly selection process and can start his term immediately. Candidates Lee Wan-kyu and Ham Sang-hoon will be finally appointed after going through the National Assembly confirmation hearing.
With the addition of these three justices, the Constitutional Court will return to a 'nine-member system' six months after Justices Lee Jong-seok, Kim Ki-young, and Lee Young-jin retired last October. This will change the current composition of 'five centrists and conservatives to three progressives' to 'seven centrists and conservatives to two progressives.'
There are a total of nine justices in the Constitutional Court. Three are appointed by the President, three are elected by the National Assembly, and three are nominated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and ultimately appointed by the President.
Justice Ma Eon-hyuk is categorized as progressive as the National Assembly's nominee. He graduated from Seoul Sadaebu High School and the Seoul National University Department of Political Science, passing the 39th Judicial Examination. After being appointed as a judge at the Daegu District Court, he served as Chief Justice at the Gwangju District Court, Suwon District Court, Seoul Central District Court, Seoul Northern District Court, and Seoul Western District Court. He is a member of the Incheon-based underground socialist revolutionary organization People's Labor Federation (Inmin Noryeon), formed in 1987, and has participated in the progressive research group Our Law.
Justice candidates Lee Wan-kyu and Ham Sang-hoon are nominated by the President. Candidate Lee is evaluated as conservative, while candidate Ham is viewed as centrist.
Candidate Lee Wan-kyu graduated from Songdo High School in Incheon and the Seoul National University School of Law, passing the 32nd Judicial Examination. He began his career as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office. He served as Director General of the Criminal Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Senior Prosecutor at the Southern Seoul District Prosecutors' Office, head of the Seosan District Prosecutors' Office, Vice Commissioner at the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office and the Northern Seoul District Prosecutors' Office, and head of the Bucheon District Prosecutors' Office. He later did not get promoted to chief prosecutor and started practicing law as an attorney.
Candidate Lee is also known to be a 40-year friend of former President Yoon Seok-youl. He is a fellow graduate with Yoon from the Seoul National University School of Law (Class of '79) and the Judicial Research and Training Institute (23rd class). In December 2020, when then-Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae sought to discipline former President Yoon, who was then the Prosecutor General, Lee served as his lawyer. He later joined Yoon's transition committee and was appointed as the first Minister of Legislation in the Yoon Seok-youl government. He is reported to have met former President Yoon at a safe house the day after the declaration of martial law on Dec. 3.
Candidate Ham Sang-hoon graduated from Dongguk University High School in Seoul and the Seoul National University School of Law, passing the 31st Judicial Examination. After being appointed as a judge at the Cheongju District Court, he was also dispatched to the Constitutional Court in 2004. He later served as Chief Justice of the Seoul Administrative Court, Chief Justice of the Administrative Division 3 at the Seoul High Court (taxes and fair trade), Chief Justice of the Civil Division 27 (construction), and Chief Justice of the Seoul Administrative Court.
Candidate Ham is evaluated as centrist, with a judgment style that is not skewed toward either side. He is also an expert in public law, having served as the president of the Supreme Court Taxes Law Research Group and the Constitutional Administrative Law Research Group. Among judges, he is known for his leadership and ability to communicate smoothly with juniors. In 2020, while serving in the criminal division of the Seoul High Court, he sentenced Kim Kyung-soo, the former governor of Gyeongsangnam-do, to two years in prison for acknowledging charges of manipulating online public sentiment.
Currently, the Constitutional Court is composed of eight justices, with five justices classified as centrist or conservative: Kim Hyung-doo, Jeong Jeong-mi, Jeong Hyung-sik, Kim Bok-hyung, and Jo Han-chang. In contrast, the acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Moon Hyung-bae, appointed by former President Moon Jae-in, and Justices Lee Mi-seon and Jeong Gye-seon, recommended by the Democratic Party, are evaluated as progressive. However, all five justices categorized as centrist or conservative expressed opinions for impeachment in the case regarding President Yoon Seok-youl.