[Anchor]

The Democratic Party has announced that it has begun discussions on whether to pursue the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae. Party leader Kim Min-seok formalized considering the "impeachment card." Within the party, hardline reactions have also emerged, with claims that Chief Justice Cho "has crossed a river of no return."

Reporter Ha Jeongyeon has our top story.

[Reporter]

Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party, announced today (October 16) that the party has begun discussions on pursuing the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.

[Kim Min-seok / Democratic Party Leader (YouTube 'Democratic Party TV'): "Because widespread demands regarding even the mere mention of impeachment have already emerged, we have put all matters on the table and begun discussions."]

Targeting Chief Justice Cho, the Democratic Party had previously mounted a public opinion campaign pressing for his voluntary resignation while maintaining a cautious stance on pursuing impeachment, but it has now placed the "impeachment card" among its options.

Within the Democratic Party, grounds cited for impeachment include Chief Justice Cho's refusal to re-recommend a Supreme Court justice nominee, his refusal to take an oath during a parliamentary audit, and allegations of improper use of departmental operating expenses.

Voices within the party calling for immediate impeachment have also grown louder.

[Park Gyun-taek / Democratic Party Lawmaker (YouTube 'Democratic Party TV'): "We must impeach; it is clearly time to at least examine it. Refusing to take a witness oath (during the parliamentary audit) violates the National Assembly Act and could fully serve as grounds for impeachment."]

One lawmaker also told SBS, "With the parliamentary audit as a turning point, Chief Justice Cho crossed a river of no return," adding, "We judged that there is no sign of remorse or change."

The Rebuilding Korea Party went so far as to propose co-sponsoring an impeachment motion to the Democratic Party.

In contrast, the People Power Party argued that the Democratic Party's real objective is to suspend Chief Justice Cho from his duties to prevent him from exercising personnel appointment authority, thereby blocking the resumption of the trial against President Lee Jae-myung.

[Jeong Jeom-sig / People Power Party Floor Leader: "If you have confidence, go ahead and impeach Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae. The moment an impeachment motion is introduced, the president will fall into 'dead duck' status (a loss of power far more severe than a lame duck)."]

For the National Assembly to impeach a Supreme Court Chief Justice, the consent of a majority of all registered lawmakers is required, and the Democratic Party, holding a 161-seat majority, is capable of passing the impeachment motion independently.

If the impeachment motion passes, the Constitutional Court will make the final decision on whether to remove him from office.

Video by Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Jang Hyeon-gi