Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae Declines to Testify at Parliamentary Audit, Drawing Criticism from Ruling Party and Defense from Opposition

[Anchor]

Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae submitted a written statement to the National Assembly stating he would not attend the upcoming parliamentary audit of the Supreme Court the day after tomorrow, October 6. While Chief Justice Cho had previously remarked that he would explain his refusal to renominate a Supreme Court justice candidate during the audit, he drew the line at appearing directly as a witness. The Democratic Party criticized the move as self-righteous arbitrariness, while the People Power Party countered that it was coercive intimidation politics.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the details.

[Reporter]

The Democratic Party disclosed that Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae submitted a written statement to the National Assembly on Friday, October 2, explaining that it would be difficult for him to appear and answer questions as a witness in the Supreme Court audit the day after tomorrow.

The statement conveyed that demanding testimony regarding his power to nominate Supreme Court justices runs counter to the separation of powers and judicial independence.

He also argued that it does not align with the intent of the National Assembly Act, which does not impose an obligation on the chief justice to attend and answer questions.

He further cited as reasons for his non-attendance that disclosing details of consultations with the president would be inappropriate and that an investigation could proceed following related criminal complaints.

Previously, Chief Justice Cho had commented on his refusal to renominate a Supreme Court justice candidate as follows:

[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (September 28): "I have heard there is much curiosity. I plan to address such matters through the upcoming parliamentary audit and other means."]

However, he drew the line at answering questions as a witness during the parliamentary audit, prompting fierce pushback from the Democratic Party.

[Seo Young-kyo / Chair of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Democratic Party Lawmaker): "It is a violation of the separation of powers, and rather than judicial independence, it is a self-righteous attempt to reign above the law."]

In parliamentary audits of the Supreme Court, the chief justice traditionally leaves after delivering opening remarks, with the minister of National Court Administration answering questions. Taking this into account, the pan-ruling bloc passed a resolution in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee designating Chief Justice Cho as a "general witness" to directly question him about the exercise of his nomination authority.

The Democratic Party maintains that he has an obligation to attend as a general witness and stated it would decide whether to pursue legal action after observing Chief Justice Cho's response.

The People Power Party criticized the move as "intimidation politics" aimed at humiliating the head of the judiciary.

Chief Justice Cho, who had also been designated as a general witness last year and submitted a written statement of non-attendance, appeared at the audit hall to deliver opening remarks, but departed after about an hour without taking the witness oath or answering questions.

Reported by Shin Dong-hwan | Video by Park Seon-soo | Graphics by Kim Min-young
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.