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| ▲ Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee Lee Gyun- ryong is seen answering questions from lawmakers during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, on Sept. 20, 2023. (Yonhap) |
Supreme Court-confirmation hearing
Parliament adopts confirmation hearing report for Supreme Court chief justice nominee
By Kang Jae-eun
SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly on Thursday adopted a confirmation hearing report for the nominee for Supreme Court chief justice, but the two major rival parties were discussing putting it to a vote next week.
The parliamentary special committee on the confirmation hearing adopted the confirmation report for Lee Gyun-ryong, but no consensus was reached on whether he is fit for the country's chief justice job.
The ruling People Power Party said Lee is fit for the job, a claim rejected by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
After serving as a judge for about 30 years, Lee was nominated as the chief justice of the Supreme Court in August to replace Kim Meong-su, whose term ends this Sunday.
The ruling party has said Lee is the right person to normalize what it calls the politicization of the judiciary during Kim's tenure, while the DP disagreed, claiming Lee has personal connections with President Yoon Suk Yeol, a former prosecutor.
The justice chief nominee has denied the allegations, saying he is a friend of someone close to the president, but not the president himself.
The DP has also took issue with Lee's past rulings, where he reportedly reduced the sentences of offenders of sexual crimes or domestic violence multiple times.
Additionally, Lee also faces accusations of purposefully underreporting assets he and his family owned for many years in the annual asset disclosure of high-ranking government officials, while he served as a high court judge.
He reportedly omitted some 990 million won (US$738,000) worth of unlisted stocks owned by his family, and left out assets under foreign accounts owned by Lee's son and daughter currently studying abroad.
Lee has also been accused of using his position as a judge to land his son an internship job at a top law firm.
At least 150 out of 298 lawmakers need to be present at the parliament during a vote. Of them, a majority of votes, at least 76, is needed to endorse Lee's nomination as the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
If Lee's nomination fails to pass the DP-controlled Assembly, the Supreme Court chief justice seat will be vacant starting next week.
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