Lim Gwanghyun, Nominee for National Tax Service Commissioner
Kim Sanghwan, Nominee for President of the Constitutional Court
Pass the Threshold of Confirmation Hearings
Nominees for the first cabinet of the Lee Jaemyung administration are steadily passing the threshold of National Assembly confirmation hearings.
On the morning of July 22, the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee held a plenary session and unanimously approved the adoption of the confirmation hearing report for Lim Gwanghyun, the nominee for Commissioner of the National Tax Service.
Lim, currently a proportional representative lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, is the first sitting member of the National Assembly in the country's constitutional history to be nominated for the vice-ministerial post of National Tax Service Commissioner. In order to assume the post, he must resign from his parliamentary seat. Once the resignation process is completed, Lim is expected to be officially appointed following President Lee Jaemyung's approval.
Also on the morning of July 22, the National Assembly's Special Committee on Confirmation Hearings for the President of the Constitutional Court adopted the motion to approve the appointment of Kim Sanghwan as President of the Constitutional Court. The previous day, the special committee held a confirmation hearing for Kim, examining his commitment to political neutrality and the protection of fundamental rights as head of the Constitutional Court. Opposition members of the committee raised concerns about Kim's background in the International Human Rights Law Society, questioning his political bias, while ruling party members collectively defended him, stating that it is natural for judges to be concerned with human rights.
The confirmation hearing report for Oh Youngjun, nominee for Constitutional Court Justice, is expected to be adopted at the plenary session of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee scheduled for the afternoon of July 22. The National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee also plans to hold a plenary session in the afternoon to approve the plan for a confirmation hearing for Choi Hwiyoung, nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. As Choi was nominated relatively late, his confirmation hearing is expected to take place on July 29.
Meanwhile, the 'confirmation hearing super week,' which lasted five days from July 14 to July 18, concluded with hearings for nominees for 16 ministries and the National Tax Service Commissioner, with the exception of Kim Yoondeok, nominee for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Choi Hwiyoung, nominee for Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
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