The motion to appoint Kim Ho-cheol as Board of Audit and Inspection chief passed the National Assembly's plenary session. The special counsel bill on the Unification Church, which had drawn attention, was not introduced after a ruling-opposition agreement fell through.
On the afternoon of the 30th, the National Assembly held a plenary session and passed the motion to appoint Kim, with 212 in favor, 34 against, and 5 abstentions out of 251 lawmakers present.
Earlier, the National Assembly's special committee on confirmation hearings adopted the confirmation hearing report on Kim by agreement between the ruling and opposition parties. The report included both the Democratic Party's "qualified opinion" on Kim and the People Power Party's "unqualified opinion."
Kim passed the 30th bar exam in 1988, completed the Judicial Research and Training Institute as Class 20, and worked as a lawyer. Kim served as a standing Commissioner of the Committee for the Investigation of Suspicious Deaths in the Military, chair of MIBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society, and co-representative of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement. President Lee Jae-myung, when nominating Kim on the 7th, said Kim is "a representative human rights lawyer who has led the protection of public interest and social values," adding that Kim "has upheld public interest and legal principles in matters with major social repercussions, such as the creation of the police bureau and the investigation of suspicious deaths in the military."
Also at the plenary session that day, the National Assembly handled recommendations for National Education Commission Commissioners (Lee Gwang-ho and Kim Kyung-hoe), an extension of the activity period for the special committee on measures to support wildfire damage, an amendment to the Criminal Act, an amendment to the Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, an amendment to the basic act on fostering artificial intelligence and building trust, an amendment to the Local Tax Act, an amendment to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Local Taxation, and an amendment to the Consumer Chemical Products and Biocides Safety Control Act.
The special counsel bill on the Unification Church, which had drawn attention, was not introduced that day and will be carried over into the new year. The ruling and opposition parties failed to agree on whether to include allegations related to Shincheonji in the scope of the investigation.
Baek Seung-a, a Democratic Party deputy floor spokesperson, met with reporters after the general meeting of lawmakers and said, "The gap over how to recommend the special prosecutor is gradually narrowing, but the People Power Party's push to exclude Shincheonji from the investigative target is strong, so consultations are needed." Kim Hyun-jung, a Democratic Party deputy floor spokesperson, added, "We cannot concede on Shincheonji if we are to uproot the collusion between politics and religion."