▲ The vote results for the new Supreme Court chief justice are displayed on a screen inside the parliamentary chamber at the National Assembly in Seoul, on Dec. 8, 2023. (Yonhap)

plenary session-chief justice nominee

National Assembly approves Supreme Court chief justice nominee

SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly on Friday approved the nomination of Cho Hee-dae as the new Supreme Court chief justice, filling a leadership vacuum in the country's top court, which lasted for more than two months.

The motion to approve Cho's nomination passed the Assembly in a 264-18 vote with ten abstentions.

Cho was widely expected to smoothly pass the vote, as a parliamentary confirmation hearing report concluded the nominee was fit for the job, given Cho had barely any irregularities and shared a clear vision on judiciary reform.

The country's top court had suffered a leadership vacuum for the past 74 days, since the former chief justice, Kim Meong-su, finished his tenure on Sept. 24, and the opposition-controlled Assembly rejected the appointment of President Yoon Suk Yeol's first nominee, Lee Gyun-ryong.

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