Nominee Reports for Supreme Court Justices Noh Gyeongpil and Park Youngjae Adopted... 'Stock Controversy' Lee Sukyeon Deferred

Yoo Sang-beom "Candidate Lee's Willingness to Donate Must Be Fully Considered"

The National Assembly's Special Committee on the Supreme Court Justice Confirmation Hearings held a plenary session on the 26th and adopted the confirmation hearing reports for Supreme Court Justice nominees Noh Kyung-pil and Park Young-jae. The adoption of the confirmation hearing report for nominee Lee Suk-yeon, who was involved in a controversy over her child's 'Dad Chance stocks,' was postponed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The opposition party delayed the adoption of the report, citing issues with nominee Lee's child investing in unlisted stocks through so-called 'Dad Chance,' making huge capital gains, the explanations provided, and the submission of insufficient documents. Lee's daughter, Jo (26), sold 400 shares of an unlisted company stock, which she purchased for 6 million KRW in 2017, to her father in May 2023 for 385,492,000 KRW. Jo used the money earned in this way to repay a loan from her father during the purchase of a villa in a redevelopment area in Seoul. The special committee will decide whether to adopt the report on nominee Lee after a review period.

Democratic Party lawmaker Heo Young said, "Despite the obligation to report the formation of assets and personal financial status to the National Assembly and submit documents, there was a process of exploiting loopholes in the system to submit reduced information, obstructing the public's right to know." He pointed out, "The answers given by the nominee during the hearing were insufficient to restore public trust." He added, "In that regard, a withholding process is necessary to allow the Supreme Court nominee to resolve public distrust."

People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-beom mentioned that nominee Lee had announced her intention to donate unlisted stocks worth about 3.7 billion KRW held by her spouse and children along with an apology, stating, "Active donation acts that offset the controversy should be fully considered." He continued, "There have been cases where people previously regarded as stingy have been introduced as good examples by returning their assets to society," and requested, "Please consider this point."

The ruling and opposition parties held confirmation hearings for the three Supreme Court Justice nominees on the 22nd, 24th, and 25th. With the adoption of the hearing reports, the National Assembly will put the appointment consent bills for the two nominees to a vote in the plenary session. According to the Constitution, the appointment of Supreme Court Justices requires the consent of the National Assembly. For the appointment consent bill to be approved in the plenary session, a majority of the total members must be present, and a majority of those present must vote in favor.