Oh Se-hoon: "National Assembly Probe into Chief Justice Is an Outrage That Tramples on Separation of Powers and Rule of Law"

▲ Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon answers questions during a parliamentary audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government by the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held at Seoul City Hall on October 19.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has strongly criticized the Democratic Party of Korea's decision to pursue a parliamentary investigation into Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, calling it "a low-grade political retaliation that rolls back South Korea's democratic history and a direct challenge to the constitutional order."

In a Facebook post titled "Are you trying to turn the judiciary into a minion of power?" posted today (October 28), Mayor Oh stated, "The Democratic Party has ultimately stepped forward to push through a parliamentary investigation into Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae," adding, "This is an unprecedented political suppression of the head of the judiciary in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea, and an outrage that directly tramples on the separation of powers and the rule of law."

He continued, "In particular, I cannot help but feel anger at the Democratic Party's arrogance and lack of reason in trying to use the not-guilty verdict in the second trial of the Myung Tae-kyun case as a pretext for a parliamentary investigation," pointing out, "Since their attempts to take down Oh Se-hoon are not going as they wished, are they trying to tear apart and tame the judiciary as a way of venting their frustration?"

Mentioning that he was acquitted in his appellate trial on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, Mayor Oh argued, "If they had read the ruling even once properly, the Democratic Party would never have been able to utter such shameless claims."

He went on to emphasize, "It has been proven through testimonies and records that I never commissioned opinion polls or requested the payment of costs from Myung Tae-kyun," adding, "Holding the Chief Justice accountable for a judgment made by an individual judicial panel based on evidence and legal principles is an ignorant and barbaric behavior unprecedented in world history."

He interpreted, "The Democratic Party's current intent is to turn the parliamentary investigation into a stage for publicly mocking and humiliating the head of the judiciary in order to appease its hardline supporters who are demanding the impeachment of the Chief Justice."

Mayor Oh issued a stern warning, saying, "I issue a strict warning to the Democratic Party. The legislative seats granted by the public are not a blank check," and urged, "Discard the arrogance that elected power can do anything and the illusion that truth can be overturned with power, and immediately withdraw the push for a parliamentary investigation into the Chief Justice."

He concluded his post by stating, "If the power granted by the people is used to lord over them, it is ultimately the people who will take that power back," adding, "If the Democratic Party does not stop its reckless runaway train, what awaits it in the end will be the harsh and stern judgment of the people."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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