Heated Clash with Pro-Government Bloc: Chief Justice Calls "Second Yoon Suk Yeol" Jab "Insulting"

[Anchor]

Lawmakers from the pro-government bloc mounted a fierce offensive against Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae. One lawmaker even asked if he was "dreaming of becoming a second Yoon Suk Yeol," to which Chief Justice Cho retorted that the remark was "insulting." He also directly refuted allegations of cooperating with martial law and questions regarding his use of business operational funds.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin reports.

[Reporter]

Today (October 6), Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae appeared as the head of the institution at the National Assembly's audit of the Supreme Court.

Unlike last year's audit, where he remained silent throughout following his opening remarks, he selectively responded to aggressive questions from pro-government bloc lawmakers this time.

[Lee Sung-yoon / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Public trust in the judiciary plummeted from 38% to 19%. It plummeted under your tenure, Chief Justice.]

[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice: I heard announcements indicating that judicial trust in South Korea has improved recently.]

The back-and-forth between the pro-government bloc lawmakers and Chief Justice Cho grew intensely sharp.

[Son Sol / Progressive Party Lawmaker: Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, are you perhaps dreaming of becoming a second Yoon Suk Yeol?]

[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice: Such remarks are insulting and also saddening.]

When pro-government lawmakers pressed him on why the Supreme Court stayed silent regarding the illegal December 3 martial law and the riot at the Seoul Western District Court, Chief Justice Cho actively pushed back.

[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice: The Martial Law Command asked us to "assess personnel".... Since it was strictly an unconstitutional act, I ordered officials not to send personnel and never to hand over a roster.]

[Kim Ki-pyo / Democratic Party Lawmaker: Why did the Chief Justice not issue any statement during the disturbance at the Seoul Western District Court?]

[Cho Hee-dae / Chief Justice: At that time, the Minister of the National Court Administration went to the scene in person and issued a stern statement.]

Regarding allegations that business operational funds were spent inappropriately on high-end meals and wine purchases, Chief Justice Cho explained that he had never even seen the card. Meanwhile, conservative opposition lawmakers launched a counterattack by bringing up allegations surrounding President Lee Jae-myung and his wife's "use of the Gyeonggi Province corporate card."

[Kim Min-jeon / People Power Party Lawmaker: At the very least, shouldn't the Democratic Party refrain from bringing up corporate cards?]

They also moved to shield Chief Justice Cho, arguing that the ruling bloc's attempts to undermine the judiciary were the more serious problem.

[Joo Jin-woo / People Power Party Lawmaker: I believe that the Democratic Party's hardline 'Gaettal' politics is undermining South Korea's Constitution and national system.]

At the National Assembly today, lawmakers from the pro-government bloc and the conservative opposition engaged in a fierce battle from the very first day of the parliamentary audit, fueled by the intensifying conflict between the President and the Chief Justice over the issue of re-recommending a Supreme Court justice.

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