Han Byung-do: "Disregarding the National Assembly Is Disregarding the Public... Chief Justice Cho Must Testify at Audit"

▲ Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, speaks at an unveiling ceremony for the 2026 parliamentary audit held at the National Assembly on October 6.

Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, who submitted a statement explaining his non-attendance as a witness at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's parliamentary audit of the Supreme Court, to "appear before the National Assembly as a witness and explain the Supreme Court justice vacancy in detail to the public."

Floor Leader Han made the remarks at a parliamentary audit strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on Tuesday, saying, "Disregarding the National Assembly, the hall of public will, is no different from disregarding the public."

He pointed out, "With the Supreme Court justice vacancy continuing for the 217th day, the processing time for criminal appeals has increased by nearly a full month," adding, "As the head of the judiciary who holds the authority to recommend Supreme Court justices, he must first answer what he has done to resolve this vacancy."

Regarding the military's final conclusion that a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was caused by a mine planted by North Korea south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), Han stated, "I strongly condemn North Korea's illegal planting of landmines."

He continued, "It is a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement and a grave provocation that threatened the lives and safety of our service members," adding, "North Korea must acknowledge responsibility and apologize."

Directing criticism at the People Power Party, Han said, "Not content with belittling the military's efforts to eliminate the danger (of the mines planted by North Korea) as merely 'cleaning up after provocations,' they even insulted our military by calling it a 'vegetative military.'" He added, "The People Power Party, which refuses to cooperate in adopting a parliamentary resolution condemning North Korea and turns even mine clearance operations aimed at protecting the safety of our troops into a subject of political strife, truly deserves to reflect on its actions."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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