Cheong Wa Dae said Friday that President Lee Jae Myung rejected Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae’s request to appoint his recommended nominee as a new justice — an unprecedented refusal that departed from the customary coordination between the two sides. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Lee asked Cho to recommend another candidate instead of Son Bong-gi, a senior judge at the Daegu District Court, to succeed former Justice Noh Tae-ak, who retired in March. Cheong Wa Dae also said it would not submit an appointment consent motion for Son to the National Assembly. “The recommendation of a successor to former Justice Noh failed to fully meet procedural requirements,” Kang said during a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae. Kang went on to say that the recommendation was submitted in writing on Aug. 18 without substantive prior consultation with Cheong Wa Dae. Kang noted that the nominee would become the first Supreme Court justice appointed under the Lee administration, which she described as “founded on popular sovereignty.” She stressed that the selection process therefor