South Korean parliament on Friday approved new prime minister, giving the head of state audit agency the top Cabinet job that has been vacant for two months.

Kim Hwang-sik, head of the Board of Audit and Inspection and a former Supreme Court justice, was approved in a plenary session by a vote of 169-71 with four abstentions, according to Yonhap News Agency in Seoul. A total of 244 lawmakers cast their votes.

During the two-day confirmation hearing prior to the vote, opposition lawmakers grilled Kim regarding allegations that he dodged mandatory draft and gave undue favors to a local university headed by his sister, charges Kim denied.

Kim’s nomination by President Lee Myung-bak was easily confirmed despite outstanding allegations, with the ruling Grand National Party holding a comfortable majority with 171 seats in the 299-member parliament.

The key Cabinet post has been vacant for nearly two months after Chung Un-chan resigned in August for failing to get parliamentary support for a contentious government relocation project.

The previous nominee, Kim Tae-ho, failed to earn parliamentary approval for his official nomination due to lingering doubts over his involvement in corruption.

Two other nominees for ministerial posts also stepped down at the same time after allegations were made against them at bruising hearings.

In a separate case early last month, the then Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan quit after being accused of nepotism over the ministry’s hiring of his daughter.