The ruling and opposition parties clashed at the National Assembly’s confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee Lee Gyun-ryong on Tuesday.

In the meeting of the Special Committee on Personnel Hearing, the ruling People Power Party(PPP) argued that the judiciary under the current liberal Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su is politically biased and emphasized that Lee is the right person to make necessary changes.

Main opposition Democratic Party(DP) lawmakers, however, pointed out previous criticism of Kim by Lee over controversial judicial system changes under the former’s leadership and the latter’s close relationship with President Yoon Suk Yeol.

DP lawmaker Kim Seung-nam pressed Lee, saying that while there is no prohibition on nominating a friend of the president, it goes against the spirit of the Constitution.

Kim Hoe-jae of the DP also slammed the PPP’s contention that Lee will bring about an unbiased judiciary, claiming that a nominee with a close personal relationship with the president cannot be the right person.