President Lee Jae Myung Approves Appointment of Supreme Court Justice Nominee Kim Sung-soo, First Justice Appointed Under Current Administration

[Financial News] President Lee Jae Myung approved the appointment of Supreme Court justice nominee Kim Sung-soo on the 18th. Kim will consequently begin a six-year term as the first Supreme Court justice appointed since the current administration took office.
Kang Yoo-jung, a senior presidential spokesperson, announced the decision in a press notice that day.
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea approved the motion consenting to Kim's appointment at a plenary session on the 17th, with 227 votes in favor, 28 against and 13 abstentions among 268 lawmakers present.
The National Assembly held a confirmation hearing for Kim on the 14th and adopted a report on the proceedings by agreement between the ruling and opposition parties at a full meeting of the Special Committee on Personnel Hearings on the 16th. The People Power Party appended an opinion deeming him unqualified, citing, among other issues, Kim's failure to present clear legal standards on whether the president can ask the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to recommend a nominee again.
Kim Sung-soo was born in 1968 in Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province. He graduated from Inseong High School and Hanyang University's Department of Law. After passing the 34th National Bar Examination and completing the 24th class at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, he began his judicial career as a judge at Gwangju District Court.
He later served as a judge at the Haenam Branch of Gwangju District Court while concurrently serving as a judge at the Jangheung Branch, followed by positions as a judge at Gwangju District Court and at the Ansan Branch of Suwon District Court. At the National Court Administration, he served as director of the First Ethics Audit Division and as an ethics audit review officer. He subsequently worked as a judge at the Seoul High Court, a presiding judge at Jeju District Court and a high court judge at the Seoul High Court.
After concurrently serving as the presiding judge of the Cheongju panel of Daejeon High Court and chief presiding judge of Cheongju District Court, he went on to serve as a presiding judge at Suwon High Court and chief professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. He has since served as a presiding judge at the Seoul High Court.


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