President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday nominated a former public prosecutor as a new Constitutional Court justice.

Lee You-jung, 49, has been tapped to become the latest member of the court's nine-member panel.

If appointed, she will also become the youngest member of the top court.


The appointment requires parliamentary approval following a confirmation hearing by a parliamentary committee.

However, the opposition-led parliament has so far failed to vote on the proposed appointment of Chief Justice-nominee Kim Yi-su, nearly three months after the incumbent Constitutional Court justice was tapped to head the court on May 19.

Kim's parliamentary confirmation hearing was held in early June.

The National Assembly's failure to make any decision on the nomination was partly caused by a prolonged rift between the rival parties over Moon's other nominees for new ministers.

However, some of the ruling Democratic Party's lawmakers have also raised questions over Kim's nomination, citing his controversial 1980 ruling as a military judge, in which Kim handed down a death sentence to a bus driver who killed four police officers in an accident while transporting protesters in a historic democratic uprising staged in the southwestern city of Gwangju.

The ruling and opposition parties are expected to soon discuss holding an extraordinary session of the parliament this month.

The ruling party currently controls 120 parliamentary seats, the largest number of seats held by any single party but far short of a majority in the 300-seat parliament. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party has 107 seats, with the splinter conservative Bareun Party holding 20 seats. (Yonhap)