[Anchor]
The second parliamentary audit under the Lee Jae-myung administration has begun. On its first day, the fiercest battleground between the ruling and opposition parties was the Supreme Court audit, which Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae attended. Over the attendance of Chief Justice Cho, who refused to take an oath as a witness, the audit site was thrown into utter turmoil from the very beginning. Chief Justice Cho delivered pointed remarks, asserting, "The National Assembly and the president cannot interfere in the Chief Justice's recommendation of Supreme Court justices."
Reporter Park Jae-yeon reports as our top story.
[Reporter]
Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae attended the parliamentary audit of the Supreme Court held by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee this morning (October 6).
Maintaining the position that he attended in his capacity as the head of an institution rather than as a witness, Chief Justice Cho directly criticized the pro-government bloc lawmakers in his opening remarks, stating that demanding his appearance by designating him, the Chief Justice, as a general witness was an "undermining of the separation of powers."
[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Demanding testimony regarding the Chief Justice's recommendation of Supreme Court justices risks undermining the principles of the separation of powers and judicial independence.]
Conventionally, the Chief Justice leaves after delivering opening remarks, but when Committee Chair Seo Young-kyo of the pro-government bloc did not grant permission to leave, Chief Justice Cho remained in his seat while refusing to take an oath as a witness, leading to a sharp war of words between ruling and opposition lawmakers.
[Kim Eui-kyeom / Democratic Party Lawmaker: I believe that answering questions that the public is curious about is an entirely natural duty, not only as the Chief Justice but also as a public official.]
[Park Hyung-soo / People Power Party Lawmaker: This is an act of arrest and detention by force of numbers. Isn't this because a demand for re-recommendation was made? Then who should appear? President Lee Jae-myung should appear.]
Chief Justice Cho, who had remained silent, pulled out a prepared sheet of paper and countered when questioning continued over the issue of "re-recommending a Supreme Court justice."
[Kim Ki-pyo / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Isn't the Chief Justice too caught up in a war of nerves with the president and sheer obstinacy?]
[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Interfering in the Chief Justice's recommendation is an unconstitutional measure that goes against the division of powers between state institutions explicitly set forth in the Constitution and the independence of judicial authority.]
Regarding the practice of prior consultation between the president and the Chief Justice, he stated his position as follows:
[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: The Chief Justice engaging in consultations has no basis in the Constitution, but it was voluntary cooperation on the Chief Justice's part for prompt and smooth appointments.]
The Democratic Party rebuked that the president's appointment power takes precedence,
[Park Kyun-taek / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Refusing a re-recommendation is a denial of the president's appointment authority stipulated in the Constitution.]
while the People Power Party focused on defending Chief Justice Cho.
[Kwak Kyu-taek / People Power Party Lawmaker: Has the separation of powers and judicial independence ever been shaken like this by the president, the administration, and the ruling party?]
Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae did not attend the parliamentary audit when it resumed in the afternoon, citing reasons including health and judicial independence, while the Democratic Party maintained that it was an "unauthorized absence."
(Video by Oh Young-choon, Kim Yong-woo, Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Nam Il)
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