▲ Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae arrives at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 20th.
The Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly has decided to conduct a pending issue questioning session on the 31st regarding Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's "written recommendation" for Supreme Court justices and the referral of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min's Supreme Court appeals regarding charges of key involvement in an insurrection to a full bench.
To this end, the Judiciary Committee passed a motion during a full committee meeting today (the 21st), led by the Democratic Party of Korea, demanding that Chief Justice Cho and National Court Administration Director Noh Kyung-phil (Supreme Court Justice) attend as witnesses.
Representative Kim Seung-won of the Democratic Party, the ruling party's secretary on the committee, said regarding Chief Justice Cho and Director Noh, "We have determined that their attitude of ignoring the National Assembly and the presidential office has gone too far." He added, "They should attend the full committee meeting, stop hiding behind curtains and proxies, and provide a detailed explanation of what they have done."
The People Power Party opposed the adoption of the witnesses and walked out just before the vote.
During a full committee meeting on the 19th, the Judiciary Committee also adopted Chief Justice Cho as a witness, led by the pan-ruling camp including the Democratic Party.
At that time, Chief Justice Cho did not attend the full committee meeting.
Meanwhile, during an appearance on MBC Radio earlier in the day, Representative Kim Seung-won pointed out that the "imperial Supreme Court Chief Justice system" is problematic regarding judicial reform issues. He stated, "The National Court Administration has acted as a mobile strike force for the Chief Justice. We need to abolish the National Court Administration, replace it with a court administrative office that only handles execution tasks, and change the system so that important court matters can be decided by a judges' council."
Later, meeting with reporters and responding to a question about whether a bill to abolish the National Court Administration would pass in the upcoming regular session of the National Assembly, he said, "I was expressing my personal view that the time for sufficient discussion has come and we can no longer hesitate."
Floor Senior Deputy Policy Spokesperson Kim Han-gyu stated regarding the same question, "That matter is not yet being discussed within the party."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.