Assembly Approves Supreme Court Justice Nominee Kim Sung-soo in 227-28 Vote

South Korea’s National Assembly approved the confirmation motion for Supreme Court Justice nominee Kim Sung-soo on Thursday, moving the nomination to its final stage before a possible presidential appointment. Lawmakers endorsed Kim during a plenary session by 227 votes to 28, while 13 members abstained.

The recorded tally accounted for 268 lawmakers and gave the motion a 199-vote margin between supporters and opponents. The wide margin followed the completion of Kim’s parliamentary confirmation process earlier in the week and cleared the principal legislative step identified in the nomination timetable.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae recommended Kim to President Lee Jae Myung last month. Kim was selected as the proposed successor to former Supreme Court Justice Lee Heung-ku, whose departure created the vacancy the nomination is intended to fill.

Kim appeared before lawmakers for his confirmation hearing on Monday. Rival parties then adopted his confirmation hearing report on Wednesday, setting the stage for Thursday’s plenary vote. The sequence placed the hearing, committee-level report and full Assembly decision within four days.

The Assembly’s approval does not by itself complete Kim’s appointment. President Lee must still approve the appointment before Kim can take office. If that approval is granted, Kim will become the first Supreme Court justice to begin serving since the Lee administration took office.

The vote therefore marks both a personnel decision for the country’s highest court and a first for the current administration’s judicial appointments. It also concludes the National Assembly’s formal consideration of Kim’s nomination after lawmakers reviewed him at the hearing and agreed on the report before casting their votes in plenary session.

Thursday’s outcome showed substantially more support than opposition in the chamber, with abstentions representing a smaller share of the lawmakers included in the tally. The next decisive action now rests with the president, whose approval would allow Kim to formally succeed Lee Heung-ku on the Supreme Court. Until that step is taken, Kim remains the nominee despite having secured parliamentary confirmation.

Kim’s path to the court now depends on a separate decision by President Lee. Parliamentary endorsement established the Assembly’s position, but presidential approval remains the stated condition for Kim to take office and begin serving on the Supreme Court.