Supreme Court Hearing on Lee Jaemyung’s Retrial... All Justices Absent
Kwon Sungdong Urges Cho Hee-dae: "Do Not Give In"
On May 14, the People Power Party criticized the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s hearing on alleged judicial interference in the presidential election, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, calling it a "barbaric parliamentary coup."
Kwon Sungdong, floor leader of the People Power Party, held an emergency meeting at the National Assembly on the same day and stated, "With only 20 days left until the presidential election, an unprecedented Supreme Court hearing on Lee Jaemyung’s alleged violation of the Public Official Election Act is being held in the National Assembly." He further pointed out, "This is the official signal flare of Lee Jaemyung-style dictatorial politics, which seeks to turn the separation of powers into the seizure of all three branches of government."
Kwon Sungdong, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at an emergency meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly on May 14, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
Kwon sharply criticized, "Humiliating and retaliating against Supreme Court justices simply because they allegedly tarnished the image of ‘the father of the Democratic Party,’ candidate Lee Jaemyung, is a grotesque form of character assassination." He also remarked, "This is a barbaric parliamentary coup that attempts to brand the Supreme Court as a criminal organization for the sake of the criminal Lee Jaemyung’s path to the presidency."
Regarding first-term Democratic Party lawmakers introducing a special prosecutor bill targeting Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, Kwon sarcastically commented, "It is touching to see these first-term Red Guards neglecting their own election campaigns to focus entirely on intimidating the judiciary in a competition of loyalty to Lee Jaemyung."
Kwon called on Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae and the Supreme Court justices to "never give in," and questioned, "If these people openly threaten even the Chief Justice, who is third in the national protocol order, how little must they think of ordinary citizens and the vulnerable?"
None of the Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, attended the hearing that day. Kwon assessed this by saying, "They have reached an entirely reasonable conclusion in order to protect their honor as judges and to safeguard the independence of the judiciary."
Meanwhile, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly, led by the Democratic Party, held a hearing to investigate allegations of judicial interference in the presidential election by Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae and other members of the judiciary. The hearing addressed suspicions of abuse of judicial authority and election interference that arose during the Supreme Court’s process of remanding Lee Jaemyung’s Public Official Election Act case to the Seoul High Court.
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