National Assembly Judiciary Committee to Hold "Cho Hee-dae Hearing" on the 14th

People Power Party Voices Strong Opposition

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly has decided to hold a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae at 10 a.m. on May 14.

On the 7th, in front of the plenary meeting room of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, members of the People Power Party held placards with slogans such as "Immediately Stop Lee Jae Myung's Exoneration Legislation" and shouted chants. Photo by Yonhap News

On the afternoon of May 7, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee convened a plenary session and passed a resolution to adopt the "Plan for a Hearing to Investigate Allegations of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae and the Judiciary's Involvement in the Presidential Election."

Just before leaving the chamber, Yoo Sangbeom, a member of the People Power Party, stated during the proceedings, "You are legislating so that a criminal (Lee Jae Myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate) will not be punished, and you are summoning the head of the judiciary (Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae) here to hold a hearing and pressure him to resign. Is this not a political act intended to subjugate the judiciary? If this continues, there is no future for the Republic of Korea."

In response, Kim Gipyo, a member of the Democratic Party, countered, "It is only natural to investigate whether the Chief Justice, together with the other nine Supreme Court justices, conspired or colluded with certain forces to eliminate the candidate of the largest party (Lee Jae Myung) before the election. It is the National Assembly's duty to clarify the issues that led to the Chief Justice's involvement in the center of politics."

Meanwhile, floor leader Kwon Seongdong and other members of the People Power Party protested against the hearing by shouting slogans outside the committee meeting room that day.

The resolution was passed under the leadership of committee members from the Democratic Party and the Cho Kuk Innovation Party after all People Power Party committee members left the meeting in protest.