President Roh Moo-hyun is expected to nominate a new chief justice of the Constitutional Court this week, and the court's justice Chon Hyo-suk is the strongest candidate, sources at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.
"The president plans to announce his choices for new Constitutional Court judges, including its chief justice, around Wednesday," a ranking Cheong Wa Dae official said.
Chon has been mentioned as the strongest candidate for the post of chief justice. Even if the president nominates her, she needs to get approval from the National Assembly to become the nation's first woman to assume the post.
The Assembly and the Supreme Court are also expected to nominate their candidates for four justices of the court as early as Wednesday.
Out of nine judges on the court, one retired last week and four others, including Chief Justice Yun Young-chul, are to leave next month when their six-year term expires. The nominees are required to undergo a confirmation hearing and obtain approval from the majority of the Assembly lawmakers before formally taking the posts.
A native of Seungju, South Jeolla Province, Chon passed the bar exam in 1975, the same year as the lawyer-turned-president.
The 52-year-old justice is considered the most reform-minded of the court's judges. In 2004, she was the only judge who decided in favor of a government plan to relocate the nation's administrative capital out of Seoul while others declared the plan unconstitutional.
Seoul, Aug. 14 (Yonhap News)
President Roh to name constitutional court chief this week: sources |
