Democratic Party: "Chief Justice Cho Disregarded the Public, Ample Grounds for Impeachment"... Pushes to Summon Him as Audit Witness

The Democratic Party on Monday (September 28) continued its fierce offensive against Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, who rejected the presidential office's request to recommend another candidate for Supreme Court justice.

The Democratic Party plans to question National Court Administration Minister Roh Kyung-pil about the decision-making process behind the refusal to resubmit nominations during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Monday afternoon, while also pushing to adopt Chief Justice Cho as a regular witness for the upcoming parliamentary audit.

Party leader Kim Min-seok stated during the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on Monday, "Public sentiment during the Chuseok holiday was heavily critical of Chief Justice Cho." He added, "There was widespread resentment over the senseless behavior of talking about other matters throughout a tea meeting with the president, only to throw a refusal to resubmit nominations the very next day, as soon as the president boarded the plane [for a trip to the United States]."

Supreme Council member Lee Sung-yoon pointed out, "Key cases of the December 3 insurrection that must be swiftly brought to justice have ground to a halt before Cho Hee-dae's Supreme Court." He added, "By neglecting the vacancy of a Supreme Court justice for hundreds of days and rejecting even President Lee's request to resubmit nominations based on an arbitrary interpretation of the Constitution, he has disregarded both the Constitution and the people."

Chief Spokesperson Park Sung-joon told reporters after the Supreme Council meeting, "Allegations have been raised that Chief Justice Cho flew into a rage and dismissed the opinion of the National Court Administration that he should accept the request to resubmit nominations. One cannot help but question whether this organization is functioning properly."

He continued, "With Minister Roh of the National Court Administration attending today's urgent inquiry at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Supreme Court must provide an explanation regarding the procedural process of how opinions were gathered and how the conclusion was reached."

Representative Seo Young-kyo, chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, appeared on Channel A's YouTube channel and remarked, "It makes me wonder if Chief Justice Cho does not recognize President Lee Jae-myung." She pointed out, "Recommending a Supreme Court justice pertains to judicial administration and has nothing to do with judicial independence or the independence of trials."


Regarding Chief Justice Cho's statement that he could not comply with the request for resubmission, citing that "the acts of the President under law shall be executed by document, countersigned by the Prime Minister and the State Council members concerned," Representative Seo criticized, "He meant that there was no official document, but upon verification, everything was there. He misled the people and lied."

When asked whether she believes there are sufficient grounds for the impeachment of Chief Justice Cho, Representative Seo replied, "Yes."

She explained, "Holding an emergency response meeting under the Chief Justice's orders during the illegal emergency martial law, violating the duty of political neutrality and interfering in the presidential election during the process of overturning and remanding the case of presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, and leaving the Supreme Court justice post vacant for more than 200 days all constitute massive violations of the Constitution and the law."

Representative Seo stated, "The law mandates that anyone requested to appear as a witness in a parliamentary audit must attend, and there are even punitive provisions if one fails to appear. We will request Chief Justice Cho as a witness today."

Representative Kim Ki-pyo, a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, argued on KBS Radio, "A Supreme Court justice is recommended by the Chief Justice, approved by the National Assembly, and ultimately appointed by the President; in effect, the appointing authority is final." He added, "The power elected by the sovereign people must be seen as having greater democratic legitimacy and power, and the power of recommendation falls under the authority of appointment."

Regarding the allegation that Chief Justice Cho dismissed the opinion of the National Court Administration, Representative Kim remarked, "Saying 'I will do as I please' shows that the Chief Justice has an imperial mindset."

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