Supreme Court nominee Kim Sung-su reports W580m in family assets

Supreme Court nominee Kim Sung-su, 57, has disclosed combined family assets of about 580 million won ($422,000). President Lee Jae Myung has submitted a request for the National Assembly's consent to Kim's appointment, setting the stage for a formal confirmation hearing.

According to the appointment consent request submitted to the National Assembly on Tuesday, Kim reported total assets of about 580 million won held in the names of himself, his spouse, his children and his mother.

Of that total, Kim's personal assets stand at 174.64 million won. His spouse reported 17.22 million won, his eldest son 223.58 million won and his eldest daughter 89.08 million won.

Kim said he holds a lease on an apartment in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, valued at 350 million won. He also owns land in Hampyeong-gun, South Jeolla Province, and Gochang-gun, North Jeolla Province, with a combined declared value of 20.22 million won.

His spouse's assets consist of 14.74 million won in deposits and 2.48 million won in stocks.

His children hold substantial stock portfolios alongside their deposits. His eldest son reported 56.49 million won in deposits and 167.08 million won in shares of Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDS, Hanwha Ocean and other companies. His eldest daughter holds 39.52 million won in deposits and 49.56 million won in stocks, including shares in the same companies.

On military service, Kim was discharged from the Army as a private second class, while his eldest son completed his service as an Air Force sergeant.

In his request for the Assembly's consent, President Lee described Kim as "a seasoned jurist who is well-versed in trial practice and has worked to ensure that citizens' right to a fair trial is fully protected through extensive legal knowledge and fair, reasoned decisions."

Lee added that Kim "is warm and deeply considerate, earning the trust and respect of his colleagues on the bench, and has won the deep confidence of litigants by providing procedural satisfaction through thorough hearings while laying the groundwork for uncovering the substantive truth."

The National Assembly plans to form a special confirmation hearing committee to vet Kim. The panel will comprise 13 members — seven from the Democratic Party of Korea, five from the People Power Party and one from a minor party — with the People Power Party taking the chairmanship. PPP members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and lawmakers with legal backgrounds are expected to fill most of the party's seats on the panel.

Kim, a native of Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province, began his judicial career in 1998 as a judge at Gwangju District Court. He subsequently served at the Haenam branch of Gwangju District Court, Seoul High Court, the Court Administration Office's ethics and audit review division, Jeju District Court as a presiding judge, Cheongju District Court as chief presiding judge, and the Judicial Research and Training Institute as a senior professor.

In January, he handed down guilty verdicts against defendants who had stormed the Seoul Western District Court in protest over the issuance of an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, stating that the violence had led to "an anti-constitutional outcome that rendered the court unable to fully perform its constitutional role and function."

Kim was nominated to succeed Supreme Court Justice Lee Heung-gu. Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae submitted written nominations to President Lee on Aug. 18, recommending Kim and Son Bong-gi, a presiding judge at Daegu District Court, to fill the vacancies left by Justice Lee and former Justice Noh Tae-ak, respectively. Cheong Wa Dae, however, moved forward with the appointment process only for Kim, telling the chief justice that Son's nomination lacked procedural completeness and asking him to submit a new nominee for that seat.