President Lee Approves Appointment of Supreme Court Justice Kim Seong-su... Just One Day After Confirmation Motion Passed

Kang Yoo-jeong, Chief Spokesperson of the Presidential Office, announced in a media briefing this afternoon that President Lee Jae-myung gave final approval on the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Kim Seong-su on the 18th.

President Lee's approval came just one day after the National Assembly passed the motion to appoint Justice Kim during a plenary session. With this, Justice Kim becomes the first Supreme Court Justice appointed since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration. His term will be six years.

President Lee Jae-myung is answering reporters' questions at a press conference held on the 18th at the State Guest House of Cheongwadae. September 18, 2026. Yonhap News Agency

Earlier, on the 17th, the National Assembly introduced the motion for Justice Kim's appointment at a plenary session and approved it with 227 votes in favor out of a total of 268 votes. According to the Constitution, the motion for the appointment of a Supreme Court justice requires the attendance of a majority of all lawmakers and approval by a majority of those present at the plenary session.

On August 18, Chief Justice Cho Hui-dae recommended Kim as the successor to Supreme Court Justice Lee Heung-gu for appointment to President Lee Jae-myung. The National Assembly held a confirmation hearing for Kim on the 14th, and on the 16th, a full committee session was convened where the confirmation hearing report on Kim was adopted by bipartisan agreement.

The confirmation hearing report included both an opinion of suitability from the Democratic Party of Korea and an opinion of unsuitability from the People Power Party. However, prior to the plenary session, the People Power Party announced its policy of leaving the vote to the discretion of its members.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.