Assembly Panel Clears Supreme Court Nominee Kim Sung-soo

A special National Assembly committee on the confirmation of Supreme Court justice nominees adopted its confirmation hearing report on nominee Kim Sung-soo by unanimous consent of both the ruling and opposition parties at a full committee meeting on Sept. 16.

Rep. Kim Do-eup of the People Power Party, who chairs the special confirmation committee, said the report laid out both assessments side by side. "In the comprehensive opinion of the review report, we compiled an assessment that the nominee is fully equipped with the qualifications and capabilities of a Supreme Court justice and would carry out the duties of the office without problems while defending judicial independence and fairness, alongside an opinion questioning whether the nominee sufficiently possesses the qualifications and capabilities, political neutrality and firm convictions on judicial independence," he said.

Neither the ruling nor the opposition party raised objections to adopting the hearing report on the nominee, and it passed unanimously.

With the special committee's adoption of the report, the National Assembly will now put the motion consenting to the nominee's appointment to a vote at a plenary session. If the motion is approved at the plenary session, the president will make the final appointment.