South Korea's Constitutional Court postpones Ma Eun-hyuk's sentence due to criticism of ”hasty trial”

The constitutional review was conducted on whether the failure of South Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who is acting for the president, to appoint judge candidate Ma Eun-hyuk was unconstitutional.
The Constitutional Court's ruling on the matter has been postponed indefinitely. The Constitutional Court had initially postponed the ruling on the constitutional lawsuit filed by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik on the 3rd, claiming that the National Assembly's authority had been violated.
However, just two hours before the verdict, it was announced that the powers dispute hearing would resume at 2 p.m. on the 10th, and the constitutional litigation case would be postponed indefinitely.
The judges reportedly held a council meeting this morning to discuss whether to grant the ruling and made the decision.
"There have been no other matters communicated by the court other than that," he said. The Constitutional Court is expected to provide a detailed explanation of the reasons for reopening the hearing on the 10th.
Earlier, Constitutional Court spokesman Jeong Jaehyun said at a press conference that morning, "The judges will decide whether or not to approve the ruling.
"We are currently considering whether to issue a ruling today, and it is possible that a ruling will not be made today," he said. "Even though the constitutional lawsuit has been approved, Acting President Choi's refusal to comply with it is a violation of the constitution and the law," he added.
"The Constitutional Court's decision does not have the force of compulsory execution, but that does not mean that we do not have to follow it," he explained. The Constitutional Court held its first hearing on the 22nd of last month and held a hearing in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The hearing ended two days later, and the verdict was set for February 3. The acting attorney general's office requested that the hearing be resumed, but the request was rejected three hours later. On the 31st of last month, the ruling and opposition parties submitted a written explanation of the process for submitting their recommendations for judges.
In response, Acting Chief Justice Choi again requested that the hearing be reopened, stating that "additional hearings are necessary." The Constitutional Court is scheduled to make a ruling.
The decision was accepted on the same day it was made. The South Korean legal community has interpreted the decision by the Constitutional Court to be a sign of criticism of procedural flaws, such as hasty trial proceedings.
Meanwhile, President Yoon Seok-yeol's side said, "This is the first time that the Constitutional Court's hasty review has been halted," and called it a "natural move."
"If a judge tries to force a conclusion with a specific objective in mind, the public will no longer be able to trust the outcome," the court said in a statement after the verdict was postponed.