Democratic Party Outlines Scope for Parliamentary Probe into Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae as Some Urge Caution

The Democratic Party of Korea has publicly presented the key allegations to be addressed in a parliamentary investigation into Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.

At a party meeting on Thursday (October 29), Senior Deputy Floor Leader Cheon Jun-ho stated, "Following the December 3 insurrection, Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's conduct has been a continuous series of unconstitutional, illegal, and controversial actions."

Listing five key allegations—the Supreme Court's overturning and remanding of President Lee Jae-myung's Public Official Election Act violation case, the Supreme Court's response during the December 3 emergency martial law, the controversy surrounding the re-recommendation of a Supreme Court justice nominee, suspicions over the execution of operational expenses and cash encouragement payments, and allegations of delaying trials for former first lady Kim Keon-hee—he said, "I hope Chief Justice Cho will actively cooperate in the upcoming parliamentary investigation so that the public's suspicions can be resolved."

Earlier, the Democratic Party decided to conduct a parliamentary investigation into Chief Justice Cho at a general meeting of lawmakers on Tuesday (October 27).

The party plans to report the request for a parliamentary investigation to a plenary session early next month before voting to approve an implementation plan for the probe.

However, conflicting views continue to emerge within the party, ranging from cautious opinions warning that tangible benefits would be limited compared to the potential for controversy and political backlash, to hard-line arguments calling for moving directly toward impeachment.

Rep. Kim Young-jin, a key figure in the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction, said on SBS Radio on Thursday, "Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae would need to appear, but can that proceed properly? Furthermore, the various matters raised so far are already public knowledge, so many questions are being raised about whether a parliamentary investigation is feasible based on newly added details."

Rep. Jeong Sung-ho, a senior figure in the pro-Lee faction, also said on Wednesday (October 28), "Parliamentary investigations have usually started with a bang and ended with a whimper. There was a parliamentary investigation regarding fabricated indictments, but the public saw how it went.

In that respect, I wonder if we shouldn't be a bit more cautious," he said.

On the other hand, five-term lawmaker Park Ji-won appeared on 'Kim Ou-joon's News Factory' on Thursday and said, "Personally, I advocate for impeachment," adding, "From our perspective, once an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Cho passes the National Assembly and heads to the Constitutional Court, his duties will be suspended, so wouldn't we also see that kind of effect?"

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