[Anchor]

Regarding the "Supreme Court Justice written recommendation crisis," Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok referred to Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae as "Mr. Cho Hee-dae" and demanded his immediate resignation. In response, the People Power Party hit back, calling it an "intimidation of the judiciary."

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the details.

[Reporter]

Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok demanded the resignation of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, who made a written recommendation for a Supreme Court justice candidate, using harsh expressions such as "accomplice in rebellion" and "bad student."

[Kim Min-seok / Leader, Democratic Party]: "I believe it is right for Cho Hee-dae, the worst Chief Justice since liberation, to step down. Didn't he resort to the tricks of a legal technician? Does he think the public is a fool? Cho Hee-dae."

Defining Chief Justice Cho's written recommendation as "judicial abuse of power," leader Kim raised his voice, saying, "Reconfigure the Supreme Court itself," and vowed to initiate judicial reform taking this incident as an opportunity.

The ruling and opposition parties clashed at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly.

The Democratic Party took issue with Chief Justice Cho's recommendation, claiming that it paralyzed the president's constitutional authority to appoint Supreme Court justices.

[Kim Gi-pyo / Democratic Party Lawmaker]: "He simply threw down a written recommendation, saying 'I have the power to recommend, so you figure out the rest.' Isn't this completely politicizing the appointment process of Supreme Court justices?"

The People Power Party countered that the Chief Justice's power of recommendation is also guaranteed by the Constitution.

[Kwak Kyu-taek / People Power Party Lawmaker]: "If that is done beforehand, it is interference by the president with the power of recommendation, which is nowhere to be found in our country's constitutional provisions. It is illegal interference."

Regarding the custom of prior consultation between the presidential office and the Supreme Court, the ruling party claimed that "the Chief Justice broke tradition and ignored the president's authority," while the opposition party argued that "the presidential office's prior demand, rather than consultation, is unconstitutional," presenting completely contrasting claims.

The Democratic Party stated that it would summon Chief Justice Cho to the National Assembly to question him directly.

[Kim Seung-won / Democratic Party Lawmaker]: "Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae should not hide behind proxies now, and should directly attend the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to give an account before the public."

The People Power Party protested, calling it a shaming tactic and intimidation of the judiciary.

[Joo Jin-woo / People Power Party Lawmaker]: "Summoning the Chief Justice out of the blue during a settlement review meeting—this is precisely an abuse of official authority, an abuse of power, and legislative dictatorship."

At the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, an agenda item demanding Chief Justice Cho's "attendance at the National Assembly today" was passed led by the Democratic Party, but Chief Justice Cho did not attend.

(Video by: Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo | Video editing by: Yu Mi-ra)