President Lee Jae Myung and Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, at odds for more than a year, are now locked in their most direct confrontation yet over the appointment of a Supreme Court justice. Cheong Wa Dae said Friday it would not submit to the National Assembly the confirmation motion for Sohn Bong-ki, a senior judge at the Daegu District Court nominated by Cho, and asked the chief justice to recommend another candidate. Senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said the powers to recommend and appoint justices are “assigned to different constitutional institutions,” arguing that Cho’s authority should respect the president’s substantive appointment power. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) says that would undermine the chief justice’s constitutional authority and threaten judicial independence. But the dispute did not begin with Sohn’s nomination. Its roots go back to a Supreme Court ruling just weeks before the 2025 presidential election that threw Lee’s campaign into uncertainty. Roots of conflict On March 26, 2025, the Seoul High Court acquitted Lee, then the D