'Oh Se-hoon Acquittal' Reignites Calls to Impeach Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae

[Anchor]

Following the appellate court's acquittal of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, voices calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae are growing louder within the ruling camp. The Democratic Party argues that the ruling adds to the grounds for impeachment following his previous refusal to renominate, while the People Power Party has strongly criticized the move as irrational.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin reports.

[Reporter]

At the Democratic Party's Supreme Council meeting this morning (October 26), Party Leader Kim Min-seok was the first to raise questions about the fairness of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's trial.

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leader: "What citizen could accept a reality where guilt, innocence, and sentencing in major cases swing drastically based on political yardsticks?"]

Floor Leader Han Byung-do directly demanded that the Supreme Court rectify the ruling on Mayor Oh.

There was even a call to introduce AI judges.

[Choi Min-hee / Democratic Party Senior Supreme Council Member: "I believe the remaining judicial reform is the introduction of AI judges. We will examine this thoroughly and prepare legislation."]

Along with the Rebuilding Korea Party, the civic group Candlelight Action, which has led prosecution reform movements, also pressured lawmakers to proceed with the impeachment.

[Yum Mi-rye / Co-Representative, Gangseo-Yeongdeungpo Candlelight Action: "Failing to impeach Cho Hee-dae is a dereliction of duty by the National Assembly. The public will never forgive the National Assembly for abandoning its duty."]

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, where the impeachment of Chief Justice Cho had been raised throughout the parliamentary audit, clashed even more fiercely following Mayor Oh's verdict.

To the Democratic Party's assertion that Mayor Oh's ruling provides further justification for impeachment, the People Power Party fired back that the claim makes no sense.

[Kwak Kyu-taek / People Power Party Lawmaker: "Are you saying that Mayor Oh Se-hoon's acquittal increases the grounds to impeach the Chief Justice? Are you completely out of your minds? Shouldn't you first be protesting why the trials regarding President Lee Jae-myung are not moving faster?"]

[Yoon Sang-hyun / People Power Party Lawmaker: "Whenever you don't get the ruling you want from the Supreme Court or the courts, do you always push to impeach Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae? Making everything about impeachment—doesn't this truly undermine the independence of the judiciary?"]

The Democratic Party plans to continue discussions on the impeachment during its general lawmakers' meeting tomorrow (October 27).

Mayor Oh Se-hoon, visibly relieved following the second-instance acquittal, is expanding his outreach both inside and outside the party.

This morning, after greeting the People Power Party leadership at a memorial service for former President Park Chung-hee, he plans to host dinners at his official residence today and tomorrow, inviting several opposition lawmakers.

With attendees including not only People Power Party lawmakers but also Lawmaker Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party, analysts suggest that Mayor Oh has begun making earnest moves toward unifying the conservative bloc.

Video by Oh Young-choon and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Park Sun-soo
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.