"Step Down Immediately, Cho Hee-dae" vs. "Do Not Intimidate the Judiciary"

[Anchor]

Regarding the "Supreme Court Justice written nomination controversy," Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok called Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae "Cho Hee-dae" and demanded his immediate resignation. The People Power Party hit back, calling it "intimidation of the judiciary."

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the details.

[Reporter]

Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok demanded the resignation of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, who nominated a Supreme Court justice candidate in writing, criticizing him with harsh expressions such as "accomplice in rebellion" and "delinquent student."

[Kim Min-seok / Leader, Democratic Party]: "I believe it is right for Cho Hee-dae, the worst Chief Justice since liberation, to step down. Didn't he engage in the trickery of a legal technician? Do you think the public is a fool? Cho Hee-dae."

Defining Chief Justice Cho's written nomination as "judicial abuse of power," Leader Kim raised his voice, saying, "Reconstitute the Supreme Court itself," and vowed to initiate judicial reform taking this incident as an opportunity.

The ruling and opposition parties clashed at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly.

The Democratic Party took issue with Chief Justice Cho's nomination, arguing that it neutralized the president's constitutional authority to appoint Supreme Court justices.

[Kim Gi-pyo / Democratic Party lawmaker]: "Saying 'I have the power to nominate, so I'll just submit it in writing and you deal with it'—isn't this completely politicizing the Supreme Court justice appointment process?"

The People Power Party countered that the Chief Justice's power to nominate is also a right guaranteed by the Constitution.

[Kwak Kyu-taek / People Power Party lawmaker]: "If you do that in advance, it is interference by the president with the nomination power, which is not found anywhere in our Constitution. It is illegal interference."

Regarding the custom of prior consultation between the presidential office and the Supreme Court, the ruling and opposition parties made completely opposing claims: the ruling party argued that "the Chief Justice broke custom and ignored presidential authority," while the opposition party argued that "the presidential office's prior demand, rather than consultation, is unconstitutional."

The Democratic Party stated it would summon Chief Justice Cho to the National Assembly to question him directly.

[Kim Seung-won / Democratic Party lawmaker]: "Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae should not hide behind agents now, but should directly appear before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to explain to the public."

The People Power Party protested, calling it a shaming tactic and intimidation of the judiciary.

[Joo Jin-woo / People Power Party lawmaker]: "Summoning the Chief Justice out of the blue during a settlement meeting—this is truly an abuse of authority, an abuse of power, and legislative dictatorship."

At the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, a motion demanding Chief Justice Cho's "attendance at the National Assembly today" was passed led by the Democratic Party, but Chief Justice Cho did not attend.

(Video by: Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by: Yu Mi-ra)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.