STORY: S. Korea's court rules acting president's non-appointment of justice unconstitutional
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 27, 2025/File
DATELINE: Feb. 27, 2025
LENGTH: 00:00:54
LOCATION: Seoul
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the building of South Korea's constitutional court (File)
2. various of the court (Xinhua/Yonhap)
3. various of Ma Eun-hyuk at the National Assembly's confirmation hearing (Dec. 23, 2024) (Xinhua/Yonhap)
4. various of acting president Choi Sang-mok (Dec. 4, 2025) (Xinhua/Yonhap)

STORYLINE:

South Korea's constitutional court unanimously ruled Thursday that the acting president's non-appointment of a constitutional court justice was unconstitutional.
   
The court said that the non-appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk, a justice candidate approved by the National Assembly, infringed upon the parliament's right offered under the constitution.
   
Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who became an acting president following the impeachments of both President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, rejected the appointment and left the nine-member bench one justice short.
   
In December last year, the National Assembly voted for the appointment of three justices, among whom two were nominated by the main opposition Democratic Party and one by the ruling People Power Party.
   
The appointment of the three justices was required to be ceremonially approved by the president, but Choi refused to appoint Ma, recommended by the Democratic Party.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Seoul.
(XHTV)