Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae Makes 'Pointed Remarks' from Start of Audit… Fierce Clashes Until Departure

[Anchor]

The second parliamentary audit under the Lee Jae-myung administration has begun. On its first day, the biggest battleground between the ruling and opposition parties was the Supreme Court audit chamber, where Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae appeared. Over the attendance of Chief Justice Cho, who refused to take the oath as a witness, the audit site was in near total chaos from the very start. Chief Justice Cho made pointed remarks, asserting, "The National Assembly and the president cannot interfere in the nomination of Supreme Court justices."

Park Jae-yeon reports first.

[Reporter]

Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae attended the parliamentary audit of the Supreme Court held this morning (October 6) by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Maintaining the position that he was attending as the head of an agency rather than as a witness, Chief Justice Cho directly criticized the pan-ruling bloc lawmakers in his opening remarks, stating that demanding his attendance as an ordinary witness was an "infringement on the separation of powers."

[Cho Hee-dae / Supreme Court Chief Justice: Demanding testimony regarding the Chief Justice's recommendation of Supreme Court justices risks undermining the principles of the separation of powers and judicial independence.]

Customarily, the chief justice leaves after delivering opening remarks, but as Committee Chair Seo Young-kyo of the pan-ruling bloc did not grant permission, Chief Justice Cho remained in his seat while refusing to take the witness oath, leading to a sharp war of words between ruling and opposition lawmakers.

[Kim Eui-kyeom / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Answering what the public is curious about is a completely natural duty not only as the Chief Justice, but also as a public official.]

[Park Hyoung-soo / People Power Party Lawmaker: This is an act of arrest and confinement through the power of the majority. Isn't this because of the demand for re-nomination? Then who should appear? President Lee Jae-myung should be the one to appear.]

Chief Justice Cho, who had remained silent, pulled out a prepared sheet of paper to mount a rebuttal as questions continued over the issue of the "re-nomination of Supreme Court justices."

[Kim Ki-pyo / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Isn't the Chief Justice too caught up in a power struggle with the president and in his own stubbornness?]

[Cho Hee-dae / Supreme Court Chief Justice: Interfering with the Chief Justice's recommendation is an unconstitutional measure that goes against the division of authority among state institutions explicitly stipulated in the Constitution and violates judicial independence.]

Regarding the practice of prior consultation between the president and the Chief Justice, he stated his stance as follows.

[Cho Hee-dae / Supreme Court Chief Justice: While there is no constitutional ground for the Chief Justice engaging in consultations, the Chief Justice has voluntarily cooperated to facilitate swift and smooth appointments.]

The Democratic Party reprimanded him, saying the president's appointment power takes precedence,

[Park Gyun-taek / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Refusing to re-nominate is an act of denying the president's appointment power as stipulated in the Constitution.]

while the People Power Party focused on shielding Chief Justice Cho.

[Kwak Kyu-taek / People Power Party Lawmaker: Have the separation of powers and judicial independence ever been shaken like this by the president, the administration, and the ruling party?]

Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae did not attend the parliamentary audit when it resumed in the afternoon, citing health reasons and judicial independence, which the Democratic Party views as an "unauthorized absence."

(Video: Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo, Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing: Nam Il)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.