South Korean President Lee returns amid court dispute and DMZ incident — Korea Herald
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung returned to Seoul on Sunday after a trip to the United States and Mexico. He faces a dispute over the appointment of a Supreme Court justice, personnel vacancies and the aftermath of a possible landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone, Korea Herald reports.
During the seven-day trip, Lee addressed the UN General Assembly in New York, where he promoted the idea of peaceful coexistence with North Korea, and also met with US President Donald Trump. In Mexico, the sides agreed to launch an intergovernmental dialogue on oil and critical resources and expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, digital technologies, aerospace and defense.
Supreme Court dispute
Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae last week rejected a request from the presidential administration to nominate a new candidate for a vacant justice position. He said the request lacked sufficient justification or constitutional grounds. The presidential administration expressed deep regret, stressing that this position effectively obliges the president to agree with the chief justice's recommendation.
The conflict arose after Cho recommended Daegu District Court Judge Song Bong-ki, but the administration did not submit his nomination to the National Assembly. Park Sung-joon, a representative of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, said the Supreme Court chief justice was acting more like a politician than a lawyer.
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On Friday, the prosecution service established in 1948 is to be abolished in the country, with prosecution and investigation functions formally separated. Two new bodies — the Prosecution Office and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency — are to begin work without appointed heads. Kim Seung-won's candidacy for justice minister was withdrawn on September 19, while the appointment of Kim Ji-young as the first head of the new investigative body is delayed because of a vetting process.
Incident in the Demilitarized Zone
On September 21, three South Korean army officers were injured during an operation near the Military Demarcation Line in the western part of the Demilitarized Zone. The explosive device that detonated was likely a landmine. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military, together with the UN Command, entered the Demilitarized Zone to secure a route for maneuvering and assess the situation before inspecting the incident site.
Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the opposition People Power Party, said that in his view the explosion was highly likely caused by a mine in a wooden box, allegedly recently installed by North Korean troops after crossing the Military Demarcation Line. He called the possible incident an act of aggression and criticized the pace of the military's response. These claims were not confirmed in the report.
A separate controversy involved the transfer to South Korea of two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported this during his speech at the UN General Assembly. Lee said Seoul and Kyiv had agreed to keep the transfer secret because of possible risks to the prisoners' safety, diplomacy and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The opposition accused the administration of trying to conceal the transfer.
