PPP: 'Impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Is Grounds for Impeachment of President Lee; Ultimate Destination Is Acquittal'

The People Power Party launched a fierce offensive today (the 20th), criticizing Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's call for the resignation of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae over his written nomination of Supreme Court justice candidates, stating, "Raising the issue of impeaching the Chief Justice is grounds for the impeachment of President Lee Jae-myung."

During the Supreme Council meeting today, Party Leader Jang Dong-hyeok remarked, "Party Leader Kim's very first declaration upon taking office was the 'impeachment of the Supreme Court Chief Justice.' This clearly shows why President Lee Jae-myung went to all sorts of extremes and went all-in on making Kim Min-seok the party leader," adding, "If they are going to discuss impeaching the Chief Justice, this ultimately constitutes unconstitutional grounds for the impeachment of the president."

Jang emphasized, "If they demand that the Chief Justice coordinate in advance and nominate someone who suits the president's tastes when nominating Supreme Court justices, is that the authority of the Chief Justice for the independence of the judiciary?" He continued, "For the president to strip away that authority, infringe upon judicial independence, appoint Supreme Court justices who suit the president's tastes, and have the ultimate destination be the acquittal of the president, this is clearly an unconstitutional act."

He added, "If the president is orchestrating all of this right now, and if Party Leader Kim is making reckless remarks following the president's intentions, then it is clearly grounds for President Lee's impeachment."

Jang pointed out, "If Chief Justice Cho and the judiciary have resolved to protect the independence of the judiciary themselves, they must start by resuming President Lee's trial," asking, "How can anyone understand and accept this situation where they threaten to impeach the Chief Justice on the grounds that the trial was delayed, while the president's own trial has been brought to a complete halt?"

Floor Leader Jung Jeom-sik also joined in during the Supreme Council meeting, stating, "The presidential office abused the 'convention' of prior consultation to usurp the Chief Justice's constitutional right to nominate appointees and turn it into the president's right of designation."

He pointed out, "Yesterday at the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Democratic Party unilaterally resolved to demand Chief Justice Cho's attendance without agreement between the ruling and opposition parties. The Democratic Party is a contradictory, self-righteous force that criticizes the Chief Justice for breaking convention while destroying convention themselves."

He directly criticized, "The very argument that it is grounds for impeachment because the Chief Justice dared not give an in-person report to the president is an idea that entirely denies the separation of powers and democracy," adding, "The ones staging a judicial coup by mocking the Chief Justice and trampling upon the judiciary are not Chief Justice Cho, but President Lee."

Supreme Council member Shin Dong-wook asked back, "Just because the appointment power for judges or committee members allotted to the National Assembly rests with the president, does the National Assembly get permission from the president to exercise it? Is our country a monarchy?" He added, "Wouldn't appointing Supreme Court justices who please the president's heart be judicial abuse instead?"

He pointed out, "The National Court Administration explained that it requested time to meet with President Lee through the Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs, but had to resort to a written submission because schedule coordination failed," and asked, "Why didn't they meet with the Chief Justice? Wasn't this setting a trap to criticize the Chief Justice?"

Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won told Party Leader Kim, "Claiming that the head of the judiciary is a delinquent student looks to me like the speaking style of a school bullying thug sitting in the back of the classroom and threatening weaker friends," emphasizing, "The essence of these reckless remarks is the demand to include Judge Kim Min-ki of the Seoul High Court in the pool of candidates for Supreme Court justices."

He stated, "Judge Kim is known to have actively participated in the Woori Law Research Center and has faced doubts regarding objectivity," adding, "The presidential office's efforts to make Judge Kim a Supreme Court justice will continue."

Youth Supreme Council member Woo Jae-jun said, "It is highly questionable whether the Democratic Party, which has broken all sorts of conventions, has any qualification to talk about convention," adding, "The pressure on Chief Justice Cho to resign is one of many attempts to ruin the judicial system in order to acquit President Lee, and it will be the crowning touch."

He emphasized, "Now that the number of Supreme Court justices has been increased, the only thing left is to appoint justices to those positions who fit their own political colors," adding, "Once that is done, the takeover of the judiciary will be complete."

Senior Spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon said in a commentary today, "If they are going to bully the Chief Justice just because things don't go their way with the first two [Supreme Court justice] vacancies, what on earth do they plan to do regarding the remaining twenty vacancies?" and warned, "Once all twenty-two positions are filled, party flags rather than judicial rulings will determine justice."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.