Justice Lee Gyunyong Supreme Court Chief Justice Nominee Hearing, Ruling Party "Judicial Reform Needed"... Opposition "Serious Asset Omission"

Candidate Lee "Apologize for incomplete asset declaration... Will follow Supreme Court Public Officials Ethics Committee decision"
"Organizational innovation needed... Will ensure fairness is seen from outside"

At the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee Lee Gyun-yong, the opposition party focused on questioning Lee about his omission in asset reporting, while the ruling party concentrated on his commitment to judicial reform.

Lee Gyunyong, nominee for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, is delivering opening remarks at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 19th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

At the National Assembly confirmation hearing on the 19th, Lee apologized, saying, "I have always been careful to conduct myself as a public official, but I sincerely apologize to the committee members and the public for the shortcomings revealed during the preparation process of the hearing, including asset reporting."

He added, "I understand that some people are concerned that I might be politically influenced or lead the judiciary in a biased direction. However, I believe that if a judge feels tempted to lead according to their factional interests, it is time to resign and look for other work."

Park Yong-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, questioned Lee about the omission of unlisted stock assets, asking, "Do you intend to resign? Elected officials face disqualification if they omit asset reporting, and high-ranking officials receive severe disciplinary action. How will you take responsibility for omitting assets worth as much as 1 billion KRW?"

Lee responded, "I first became aware that the value was 1 billion KRW during the hearing process," and said, "I will abide by the decision of the Supreme Court Public Officials Ethics Committee."

Park revealed circumstances in which Lee’s spouse, Ms. Kim, had set a mortgage on land owned by a family-run company. Park claimed that in May 2002, Ms. Kim established a mortgage worth approximately 160 million KRW on land in Sangbuk-myeon, Yangsan, Gyeongnam, owned by Oksan Co., Ltd., which is operated by Lee’s brother-in-law.

He pointed out, "This is effectively using the family company as a private safe for the in-laws and even raises concerns of breach of trust."

Lee stated, "I have no knowledge of the operations of the company run by my brother-in-law," but added, "I believe there have been no illegal activities."

Regarding criticism that the judiciary under Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo’s administration has been biased, Lee said, "I will strive to ensure that the judiciary appears fair from an external perspective."

Jang Dong-hyuk, a member of the People Power Party, asked, "It is not politics influencing the judiciary anymore; rather, judges are taking off their shoes and voluntarily entering politics. How do you plan to change this?"

Lee replied, "This is not an issue I can handle alone. I believe organizational innovation is necessary by fully gathering opinions from judiciary members and related legal community organizations so that the public’s right to a fair trial can be substantively guaranteed."

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