Lawmakers to vote on Constitutional Court chief nomination

Lawmakers decided Wednesday to put the nomination of the Constitutional Court chief to a full National Assembly vote, paving the way for the nominee's appointment to the job.

The decision came at a meeting of a special parliamentary confirmation hearing committee following a series of hearings for the nominee Park Han-cheol on Monday and Tuesday.

The former public prosecutor, who currently serves as a Constitutional Court justice, was grilled over his past rulings, which opposition lawmakers claimed revealed a conservative bias, as well as his former job as head of the public security department at the Supreme Prosecutors Office.

Opposition lawmakers voiced strong concerns that the nominee would defend the rights of the state more than those of individuals, as the department is charged with handling cases involving anti-government forces.

The nominee, who was tapped by President Park Geun-hye last month, also faced allegations that he used his personal connections to earn an unfairly large amount of money during the four months he worked for a law firm following his retirement from the prosecution in 2010.

"The nominee has a sincere and balanced way of thinking as well as plenty of experience and a high degree of professionalism through his work as a prosecutor, lawyer and Constitutional Court justice," ruling Saenuri Party members of the committee said in a report on the hearings.

Opposition lawmakers of the committee insisted Park is unfit for the job, citing his work at the law firm and the public security department.

"Park is unsuitable to be a Constitutional Court chief who must realize the Constitutional values of social harmony, personal freedom and rights, and protection of minorities and the socially weak," they said in the report.

Still, by adopting the report, the committee sent the nomination to a vote at a full Assembly session scheduled for Thursday.

Park Han-cheol is widely expected to win parliamentary approval.

The president named the justice after her predecessor Lee Myung-bak's pick for the job, former Constitutional Court justice Lee Dong-heub, resigned in February under pressure over allegations of a series of ethical lapses, including tax evasion and speculative real estate investment.

The new president took office on Feb. 25. (Yonhap News)