2026.10.13. The Fair Economy — Tensions between the ruling and opposition parties over the re-nomination of a Supreme Court justice candidate and discussions on adjusting the jurisdiction of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) emerged as key issues during the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit on the 13th. The audit, conducted with the Constitutional Court and the CIO, also focused heavily on the 224-day vacancy of Supreme Court justice seats and the CIO's lackluster investigative record.
The Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a national audit of the Constitutional Court and the CIO on the 13th. The re-nomination issue for Supreme Court justice candidates and plans to adjust the CIO's investigation targets were the main agenda items.
During the audit, Son In-hyeok, Director-General of the Constitutional Court, stated that the dispute over the re-nomination is "a matter of interpretation of Article 104, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution." He added that it is inappropriate to express personal opinions before the court's judgment, as a jurisdictional dispute has been filed. Regarding the 224-day vacancy of Supreme Court justice seats, he replied that it is "not a constitutionally desirable state."
Kim Sang-hwan, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, stated that the court is working to ensure the stable establishment of the judicial review system introduced in March. The Constitutional Court explained that it is securing personnel and budget to respond to the increasing number of review cases and has completed the overhaul of the information system related to judicial review and the revision of review regulations.
The number of people receiving constitutional education from the Constitutional Research Institute is expected to increase more than tenfold from 2,000 to 3,000 per year to about 30,000 by the end of this year. The target audience has also been expanded to include soldiers and police officers.
The issue of adjusting investigative jurisdiction became a point of contention during the CIO audit. Oh Dong-un, Head of the CIO, expressed opposition to the plan to transfer the authority to investigate the president and members of the National Assembly to the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), emphasizing that "the CIO's authority to investigate the president and members of the National Assembly coexists with that of the SCIA."
Oh said he will push for a law amendment to incorporate senior police officials and fourth‑grade investigators of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency into the pool of investigation targets and to rationally adjust the subjects of related crimes. He also announced plans to expand the current staff of 85 (25 prosecutors, 40 investigators, 20 administrative staff), extend prosecutors’ terms, and abolish the term system for investigators.
The Corruption Investigation Office’s poor investigative performance and delays were sharply criticized by both parties. Lee Seong-yun, Democratic Party lawmaker on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, pointed out that “only eight cases have been directly prosecuted in the five years since its launch.” Joo Jin-u, People Power Party lawmaker on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, criticized that “the one‑year budget is 20.7 billion won, yet the results are woefully lacking.”
The progress of investigations into the complaint filed against Chief Justice Cho Hui-dae over his written nomination of a Supreme Court justice candidate and the complaint against Kim Seung-won, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, was also questioned. The civic group Action for Judicial Justice filed a complaint in August against Chief Justice Cho and Roh Gyeong-pil, Director-General of the Court Administration Department of the Supreme Court, on charges of abuse of authority and dereliction of duty. The CIO assigned the case to its First Investigation Division.
The golf controversy involving President Lee Jae-myeong of the Republic of Korea also escalated into a clash between the ruling and opposition parties. When Joo Jin-u said, "It seems the Democratic Party has collectively hit a panic button," Kim Dong-a, a Democratic Party lawmaker, retorted, "You are putting on a show." Park Eun-jeong, a lawmaker from the Justice Party (proportional representation), also responded, "You should say something that makes sense."
The controversy over the re-nomination of Supreme Court justices began in August when the presidential office requested a re-nomination for Son Bong-gi, a Supreme Court justice candidate. The ruling party raised the issue that a written nomination was made before consultations between the president and the Chief Justice were completed. After a month of deliberation, Chief Justice Cho issued a statement on the 22nd of last month saying he could not accept the re-nomination request because "the specific reasons for the re-nomination request and its constitutional basis are not stated."
Subsequently, the People Power Party filed a jurisdictional dispute with the Constitutional Court regarding the Blue House's re-nomination request last month, claiming that the National Assembly's power to approve Supreme Court justices and lawmakers' powers of deliberation and voting were infringed. In contrast, the Democratic Party argued that it is a long-standing practice for the Chief Justice to consult with the president before nominating a Supreme Court justice, and therefore rejecting the president's re-nomination request infringes on the president's appointment power. Chief Justice Cho emphasized the nomination power during the Supreme Court audit on the 6th, stating, "Presidents in the past have ultimately all respected the (Chief Justice's) nomination power."
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