Nat'l Assembly adopts confirmation hearing reports for 3 Constitutional Court justice nominees

This photo shows the parliamentary confirmation hearing for three Constitutional Court justice nominees, without the attendance of ruling party lawmakers, at the National Assembly, Seoul, Dec. 23. Yonhap

The opposition-led National Assembly on Tuesday adopted confirmation hearing reports for three Constitutional Court justice nominees, moving closer to filling vacancies on the nine-member bench set to deliberate President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial.

The unilateral adoption of the reports, led by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), came after the ruling People Power Party (PPP) abstained from the two-day hearings that ran from Monday through Tuesday.

The PPP has argued that acting President Han Duck-soo has no authority to make the appointments, vowing to file a suit with the top court seeking an injunction if he proceeds.

The DPK pushed ahead with the hearings for the nominees — Ma Eun-hyuk, Jeong Gye-seon, both of whom are nominated by the DPK, and Cho Han-chang, recommended by the PPP.

The adoption of the confirmation reports paves the way for the Constitutional Court to proceed with Yoon's impeachment trial as a full nine-member panel and deliver its decision on whether to unseat him from office or reinstate him until the June 11 deadline.

By law, at least six votes are required to uphold an impeachment motion.

The DPK and minor opposition parties, which together hold 192 seats at the 300-member parliament, plan to pass the motions for the appointments during a plenary session Thursday. (Yonhap)