ROH CAN'T BUY A VOTE: FAILS THREE TIMES TO APPOINT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 003309

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2016
TAGS: PGOV KS
SUBJECT: ROH CAN'T BUY A VOTE: FAILS THREE TIMES TO APPOINT
JEON AS PRESIDENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

Classified By: POL Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Blue House failed three times to confirm
its choice for President of the Constitutional Court, Jeon
Hyo-sook, at the National Assembly. The Blue House asked
Jeon to resign from her position as a court justice so she
could subsequently start a new six-year term as the first
woman at the helm of the top court. The president must be a
sitting judge, so this procedural mistake made opposition
inevitable from not just the fervent anti-Roh Grand National
Party (GNP) but from all parties. With fifteen months until
the December 19, 2007 presidential elections, President Roh
Moo-hyun's little remaining power continues to evaporate.
However, despite the repeated failure to obtain approval from
the National Assembly, Jeon will likely become the next
President of the Constitutional Court in October since Jeon's
nomination does not need to be confirmed by an Assembly vote.
END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The Blue House asked then Constitutional Court
Justice Jeon to resign from her post so she could
subsequently be appointed as president of the court. She was
three years into her six-year term as justice and the Blue
House goal was for Jeon to start a new six-year term as
president of the court. Three opposition parties strongly
opposed the nomination since she was the only court justice
who upheld the move of the capital as constitutional in 2004.
She also passed the bar and went through lawyer training
with President Roh in 1975. The procedural mistake and
complaints of "code personnel" or cronyism made Jeon's
appointment impossible to pass through the Assembly.

FAILED VOTES
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3. (U) On September 8, 14 and 19 the nomination was blocked
in the Assembly. On September 8 and 14, the ruling party
decided there were insufficient votes. On September 19, the
opposition GNP occupied the National Assembly speaker's stage
and physically blocked the passage of the nomination.


4. (C) At the request of the opposition parties, on
September 13 Blue House Chief of Staff Lee Byung-wan issued a
statement saying, "We regret that we've caused controversy
and concern among the public by not fully taking care of some
procedural details." However, as the attempts on September
14 and 19 showed, the apology did not lead to the necessary
support. Pundits unanimously agree that there is no chance
Jeon will make it through the Assembly.


5. (C) Since the confirmation of the court president needs
only to be reported to the plenary and does not require a
vote, and since President Roh can appoint Jeon as president
of the court 30 days after submitting her name to the
Assembly, pundits speculate that the Blue House will wait out
the 30 days and Jeon will become the first woman President of
the Constitutional Court in early October.

COMMENT
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6. (C) According to experts, the GNP has nothing to lose
blocking Jeon's appointment and their ability to stalemate
the Blue House's attempt to appoint Jeon through a vote is
yet another testament to Roh's lack of influence over
appointments. According to polls, people against Jeon's
nomination outnumber those for her by a 2 to 1 margin.
Despite this fact and the continued failure to pass through
the Assembly, there is no choice for Roh but to appoint Jeon
to the court. If he were to abandon this appointment, his
lame duck status would become fatally final. The only
remaining power Roh has is appointment power, still strongly
vested in the Executive Branch. Roh is expected to appoint
several new ministers before his term is over, notably FM and
DefMin.
VERSHBOW