Lee's PM pick passes Assembly amid opposition boycott
The National Assembly's approval of Kim comes 29 days after President Lee Jae Myung chose the former head of the Democratic Party's supreme council, the party's top decision-making body, to lead his Cabinet.
The vote on whether to approve Kim's nomination, in which only the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and minor liberal parties participated, 173 out of 179 lawmakers present voted in favor. Three voted against his nomination, and three abstained from voting.
Speaking to reporters, Kim said he would "listen to the voices of the people like they are the will of heaven" and "carry out the president's directions at the ground level." Kim also said he would work closely with lawmakers across political parties.
Kim picked "overcoming the economic crisis spawned by the tyranny" of the last Yoon Suk Yeol administration as a top priority.
Kim said as prime minister he would "usher in a new era of the great people, great government and great president of this country."
The People Power Party said the Democratic Party unilaterally passing the approval of Kim, in the absence of the opposition, was an abuse of the ruling party's majority in the Assembly.
Ahead of the vote, the People Power Party said Kim should give up his nomination, saying the nominee failed to address allegations surrounding his financial track record during his Assembly hearing.
The People Power Party also found fault with Kim defending his role in the 1985 occupation of the US Cultural Center near the US Embassy in Seoul.
Kim had worked with Lee as the party's chair on the Democratic Party's leadership for about a year until he left the post to run for president.
A revision to the Martial Law Act — banning military and police entry into the National Assembly under martial law — also passed during Thursday's session.
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