Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae on Wednesday nominated a woman to fill the last remaining seat on the Supreme Court’s 14-member bench, long considered as a share of public prosecutors.

The selection of Kim So-young, a senior judge at Daejeon High Court, follows the resignation in July of Kim Byeong-hwa, a senior prosecutor and one of the four that Yang chose to replace four retiring justices, amid doubts over his ethics.

The new designate must go through a parliamentary hearing and confirmation process before being formally appointed by President Lee Myung-bak.

If named, she will be the fourth woman to become a Supreme Court justice and the second in service along with Park Bo-young who joined the court in January.

Kim hails from Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, and studied at Seoul National University.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)