Democratic Party Visits Supreme Court in Protest: 'Remnants of Insurrection' vs 'Hypocrisy'

[Anchor]

The Democratic Party has paid a protest visit to the Supreme Court. Ramping up pressure by raising the possibility of a parliamentary investigation and a special counsel probe, the party also denounced Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae as the "remnants of insurrection." The People Power Party fired back at the Democratic Party for being "hypocritical," claiming that the root cause of the situation lies with President Lee Jae-myung.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon reports.

[Reporter]

Having defined Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's "refusal to renominate a Supreme Court justice" as a "judicial coup and insurrection," the Democratic Party paid a protest visit to the Supreme Court at the party level today (September 23).

[Han Byung-do / Democratic Party Floor Leader: They made a surprise announcement just two days before Chuseok. It is like stabbing the president in the back while he is away on an overseas trip...]

Chief Justice Cho was away after taking annual leave following his morning commute.

[Seo Young-kyo / Democratic Party Lawmaker: I hate to say it this way, but didn't he just run away?]

Mobilizing meetings, briefings, and social media, the Democratic Party demanded Chief Justice Cho's resignation, using expressions such as an "unprecedented revolt" and "remnants of insurrection," while also raising the possibility of a parliamentary investigation or a special counsel probe.

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leader: This 'unprecedented revolt' will become the trigger for judicial reform. We will mobilize all the powers of the National Assembly to investigate, summon, reprimand, and hold them legally accountable...]

The party also placed Chief Justice Cho's commuting hours and operational funds—such as encouragement funds for Supreme Court justices flagged by the Board of Audit and Inspection—under heavy scrutiny, and threatened to pursue legislation to abolish the National Court Administration.

While calls for impeachment proceedings are mounting in some corners of the ruling camp, the Democratic Party leadership plans to focus for now on a public relations campaign highlighting what it calls the unconstitutional conduct of the judiciary under Cho.

The People Power Party snapped back at the ruling camp for its "hypocrisy and audacity," arguing that the cause of this situation "lies with President Lee Jae-myung, who is trying to avoid standing trial."

[Jang Dong-hyeok / People Power Party Leader: Lawmakers of the ruling party flocked to the Supreme Court just to keep Lee Jae-myung out of prison. The public will protect Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.]

The party also announced plans to determine accountability through a competence dispute trial filed with the Constitutional Court, stating, "Even the National Assembly's right of consent was infringed upon by a demand for renomination that lacks a solid constitutional basis."

Video by Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Yoo Mi-ra
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.