[Yonhap Photo]
President Moon Jae-in suffered a political setback in parliament after oppositional legislators joined hands to vote down the nomination of a new constitutional court chief over his controversial ruling in sensitive cases.
Kim Yi-su, picked by Moon three months ago to head the Constitutional Court, failed to win a majority of votes in parliament. Of 293 lawmakers present, 145 voted for him and 145 against him.
The ruling Democratic Party condemned the vote as a political reprisal against the court which made a landmark decision on March 10 to endorse the impeachment of disgraced ex-president Park Geun-hye for her role in a corruption scandal. The ruling paved the way for Moon's rise to power.
It's the first time in South Korea's parliamentary history that the nominee of a constitutional court head was rejected in parliament.
Choo Mi-ae, head of the Democratic Party, and the president's office accused opposition legislators of using the case for their political interests to put a blemish on the leadership of a popular president. "It is very regrettable that the National Assembly made a decision based on partisan politics," Choo said.
The conservative main opposition Liberty Korea Party argued Kim has been ideologically biased.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
![[IMPEACHMENT] S. Koreas constitutional court defines Park as intolerable criminal](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2017/03/10/20170310130447580701.jpg)