Court Administration Chief: "Cho Hee-dae Was First to Raise 'Martial Law Unconstitutionality' at Supreme Court Meeting"

Late-Night Meeting Convened by Chief Justice on Day of Martial Law

Chun Dae-yeop, Director of the National Court Administration, stated that during the '12·3 Emergency Martial Law' last year, Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae was the first to raise concerns about unconstitutionality at a Supreme Court executive meeting. This suggests that Chief Justice Cho, conscious of the controversy surrounding martial law, did not participate in the decision to overturn and remand the conviction in the election law case involving Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate.

Yonhap News

Director Chun made this statement on the afternoon of May 2 during an emergency inquiry by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, responding to questions from Kim Yong-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker.

Representative Kim said, "It seems very strange that Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae would go out of his way to make this ruling at this particular time, which makes me suspect that it might be related to martial law in some way," and asked, "Isn't this somehow an attempt to help former President Yoon Suk-yeol?"

In response, Director Chun said, "I can state clearly that the Chief Justice is not involved in such matters," and added, "On the day martial law was declared, during our executive meeting, the Chief Justice was the first to mention that it was unconstitutional."

The National Court Administration, which oversees judicial administration under the Supreme Court, convened an emergency meeting late at night on December 3 last year, the day martial law was declared, at the direction of Chief Justice Cho. After learning about the martial law declaration on television at his official residence, Chief Justice Cho, considering the seriousness and gravity of the situation, ordered the meeting to be convened and reportedly arrived at the Supreme Court early that morning.

At the time, the Martial Law Command requested that the court assign a judicial officer as a liaison, but the National Court Administration refused. During the meeting that day, many participants reportedly raised questions about whether the declaration of martial law was in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and Director Chun explained that Chief Justice Cho was the first to point out its unconstitutionality.