President Lee Jae-myung submitted the confirmation motion for Supreme Court justice nominee Kim Seong-su to the National Assembly on August 31, 2026. This submission marks the start of the Assembly’s procedure for appointing a Supreme Court justice; it does not mean that the appointment has been completed.
Key Change
Nominee Kim Seong-su is a presiding judge at the Seoul High Court and is a graduate of the 24th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae recommended Kim to the president on August 18 as the successor to Justice Lee Heung-gu, and the president’s submission of the confirmation motion to the National Assembly has moved the process to its next stage.
The confirmed change at this point is the president’s submission of the confirmation motion to the National Assembly.
Current Status
Kim reported approximately 580 million won in assets held by himself and his family. He began his judicial career as a judge at the Gwangju District Court in 1998 and has since served at the Haenam Branch of the Gwangju District Court, the Seoul High Court, the Court Administration Office, the Jeju District Court, the Cheongju District Court, and the Judicial Research and Training Institute. In the confirmation motion, the president described him as a career judge who has handled a wide range of cases over approximately 28 years.
Kim was scheduled to transfer from the Seoul High Court to the Supreme Court on September 2 and begin preparing for the National Assembly’s personnel hearing.
Impact
Under the relevant laws, the National Assembly forms a Special Committee on Personnel Hearings to review the confirmation motion and conducts the personnel-hearing process. However, based on the materials currently confirmed, it is not possible to state specific dates for the hearing or the National Assembly plenary session with certainty.
Accordingly, readers should focus on these three points:
- Whether the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Personnel Hearings has been formed
- Official schedules related to the personnel-hearing process
- Whether the National Assembly’s plenary consent procedure is moving forward
Next Checkpoint
After the scheduled transfer on September 2, it will be necessary to check the nominee’s hearing preparations and official announcements from the National Assembly. The dates of the hearing and plenary session should not be treated as confirmed until the Assembly makes an official announcement.
Sources and verification time (as of 21:15 on September 1, 2026): [Yonhap News Agency](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20260901134300001), [SBS News](https://news.sbs.co.kr/amp/news.amp?news_id=N1008732741), [Newsis](https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260901_0003772215), [MBC News](https://imnews.imbc.com/news/2026/society/article/6848546_36918.html), [Supreme Court of Korea](https://scourt.go.kr/portal/news/NewsViewAction.work?gubun=6&searchOption=&searchWord=&seqnum=3038), [Korea Law Information Center — Personnel Hearing Act](https://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsId=002037), [Korea Law Information Center — National Assembly Act](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/lsInfoP.do?lsId=001416)