People Power Party Judiciary Committee Members on Ruling Party's Pressure for Chief Justice's Resignation: "A Declaration of Intent to Move Toward Dictatorship"

Na Kyungwon: "The Democratic Party wants to write President Lee's acquittal verdict themselves"
Cho Baesook: "Isn't this an expression of anxiety over their lack of confidence in the legal basis for the insurrection charges?"

On September 15, members of the People Power Party on the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee strongly criticized the ruling bloc’s pressure on Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Heedae to resign, calling it “a direct challenge to the Constitution and the separation of powers, as well as a dangerous declaration of intent to move toward a dictatorship.” While the presidential office expressed “principled agreement” with the ruling party’s demand for Chief Justice Cho’s resignation, the opposition party urged the judiciary to immediately resume the trial of President Lee Jaemyung.

Members of the People Power Party's Judiciary Committee held a press conference on the 9th at the National Assembly opposing judicial reforms centered on the separation of the prosecution office and the Serious Crime Investigation Office and the increase in Supreme Court justices, as proposed by the government and the Democratic Party in the revision of the Government Organization Act. From left to right: Jun Tae Park, Jinwoo Joo, Baesook Cho, Kyungwon Na, Seokjun Song. 2025.9.9 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Na Kyungwon, a member of the People Power Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly on this day with fellow Judiciary Committee members Cho Baesook, Song Seokjun, and Joo Jinwoo, stating, “The Democratic Party is seeking to topple the Cho Heedae system and write President Lee’s acquittal verdict themselves.” She added, “For the chair of the Judiciary Committee, the leader of the ruling party, and even the presidential office to pressure the Supreme Court Chief Justice to resign is a direct challenge to the Constitution.”

Na emphasized, “The Supreme Court Chief Justice is required to maintain a high level of political neutrality and is guaranteed independence by the Constitution. The term is set at six years, and reappointment is not allowed,” adding, “For the Democratic Party and the presidential office to demand the resignation of such a Chief Justice is itself an unconstitutional act.”

She also criticized the Democratic Party’s push to establish a special division for insurrection cases, saying, “Because the special tribunal is provoking public backlash, they are misleading the public by calling it a dedicated division. Whether it is a dedicated division or a special tribunal, it is no different. The essence is to arbitrarily manipulate the bench for specific cases.”

Na stated, “Nowhere in the world does the ruling party directly form a judicial panel to try political cases. In civilized countries like the United States, Germany, France, and Japan, such a thing is unimaginable. In fact, it is only found in the dark history of totalitarian regimes like Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, where it was abused as a tool for political purges.”

Cho Baesook, who chairs the People Power Party’s Special Committee for the Protection of Judicial Justice and Prevention of Dictatorship, also targeted the Democratic Party, saying, “They attack the judiciary and the Chief Justice, labeling any ruling that does not align with their wishes as wrong or political. This seems to be an expression of anxiety stemming from their lack of confidence in the legal basis for the insurrection charges.”

Cho continued, “The Democratic Party now claims the Chief Justice must resign, but the public knows very well who truly should step down,” adding, “We will do our utmost to uphold judicial justice.”

Joo Jinwoo, a former prosecutor, also stated, “Among OECD countries, there is not a single case where the ruling party and the president demand the resignation of the Supreme Court Chief Justice. It is an international embarrassment.”

Regarding the plan to increase the number of Supreme Court justices, he said, “If the number of justices is increased to 26, it will cost an additional 1.6 trillion won in taxpayer money. President Lee would get to appoint 22 justices. If a single president appoints 22 justices, what will happen to the independence of the judiciary?”

Joo also criticized the Democratic Party’s argument that, in addition to the insurrection division, dedicated panels should be established for the special prosecutor cases involving Kim Keonhee and the deceased Marine, saying, “If you are going to create a separate panel for every case, you might as well establish a ‘Democratic Party Acquittal Division’ that automatically finds the Democratic Party not guilty.”