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Yoon appoints new Supreme Court chief justice

December 8, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed the new head of the Supreme Court on Friday, ending more than two months of a leadership vacuum in the country’s top court.

Yoon presented Cho Hee-dae, a former Supreme Court justice, with a letter of appointment in a ceremony at the presidential office in Seoul, hours after the National Assembly approved Cho’s nomination.

This photo shows President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) shaking hands with Cho Hee-dae at the presidential office in Seoul on Dec. 8, 2023, during a ceremony to present him with a letter of appointment as the new Supreme Court chief justice. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
This photo shows President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) shaking hands with Cho Hee-dae at the presidential office in Seoul on Dec. 8, 2023, during a ceremony to present him with a letter of appointment as the new Supreme Court chief justice. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

The motion to approve Cho’s nomination passed the Assembly in a 264-18 vote with ten abstentions.

Cho was widely expected to smoothly pass the vote, as a parliamentary confirmation hearing report concluded the nominee was fit for the job, given Cho had barely any irregularities and shared a clear vision on judiciary reform.

The country’s top court had suffered a leadership vacuum for the past 74 days, since the former chief justice, Kim Meong-su, finished his tenure on Sept. 24, and the opposition-controlled Assembly rejected the appointment of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s first nominee, Lee Gyun-ryong.

The vote results for the new Supreme Court chief justice are displayed on a screen inside the parliamentary chamber at the National Assembly in Seoul, on Dec. 8, 2023. (Yonhap)
The vote results for the new Supreme Court chief justice are displayed on a screen inside the parliamentary chamber at the National Assembly in Seoul, on Dec. 8, 2023. (Yonhap)