The Democratic Party(DP) on Tuesday accused acting President Han Duck-soo of abusing his authority after he nominated two successors to replace retiring justices of the Constitutional Court.

Party spokesperson Han Min-soo, speaking to reporters after an emergency DP Supreme Council meeting, called the move unconstitutional and an attempt by insurrectionists to seize control of the Constitutional Court.

He added that the DP is considering legal measures to block the nominations.

Earlier in the day, acting President Han named Lee Wan-kyu, minister of government legislation, and Ham Sang-hun, a justice of the Seoul High Court, as candidates to replace Constitutional Court Justices Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-son, whose terms expire next Friday. 

The DP spokesperson also raised questions about the nominees’ qualifications, in particular those of Lee Wan-kyu, who was investigated by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials over suspected links to the December 3 martial law incident, calling it unacceptable to nominate such a person to the bench.