"Grounds for Renomination Request Unclear"... Chief Justice Refuses Witness Oath and Testimony

[Anchor]

Appearing at the parliamentary audit of the Supreme Court today (October 6), Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae personally explained the circumstances behind his refusal of the presidential office's request to renominate a Supreme Court justice candidate, stating that "specific reasons and constitutional grounds were not clearly stated in the official document." He also refused to comply with the National Assembly's request to take a witness oath or give testimony, citing the principle of the separation of powers, which sparked clashes between the ruling and opposition parties.

Reporter Ha Jeong-yeon reports.

[Reporter]

At the parliamentary audit of the Supreme Court held by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly this morning (October 6).

With the presidential office and the Supreme Court unable to bridge their differences over the renomination of a Supreme Court justice candidate, Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae addressed the issue of candidate nomination during his opening remarks.

[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: "First, I apologize for causing concern to the public as the Supreme Court justice vacancy has been prolonged. Since many citizens are interested in this matter, I would like to explain the circumstances."]

Chief Justice Cho stated that he determined it would be difficult to proceed with follow-up procedures because specific reasons and constitutional grounds were not clearly stated in the official document from the presidential office requesting a renomination, saying:

[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: "This was based on the principle that the Chief Justice's power to recommend, the National Assembly's power to consent, and the President's power to appoint must each be respected in accordance with their constitutional significance."]

When asked by the National Assembly to take a witness oath and testify, he refused on the grounds of the separation of powers and judicial independence, leading to heated exchanges between the ruling and opposition parties.

[Seo Young-kyo / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "The Chief Justice must take a witness oath. Witnesses from relevant institutions, including Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, have an obligation to answer."]

[Park Hyung-soo / People Power Party Lawmaker: "For decades until now, Chief Justices have delivered opening remarks and then departed.... Why did that custom emerge? It was to respect the independence of the judiciary."]

After being designated as a regular witness for the parliamentary audit, Chief Justice Cho submitted a statement explaining his reasons for non-appearance, and attended today's (October 6) audit in the capacity of the head of an audited agency.

To questions from Democratic Party lawmakers regarding his refusal to renominate a candidate, Chief Justice Cho repeatedly replied to the effect that he "cannot testify."

Reported by Ha Jeong-yeon | Video by Oh Young-choon and Lee Seung-hwan | Video Editing by Nam Il
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.