[2025 National Assembly Inspection] Ruling Party Pushes Ahead with Supreme Court On-Site Inspection... Opposition Declares "Inspection Boycott"

PPP: "Judicial System Undermined, Boycotting Inspection"
Democratic Party: "On-site Inspection Proceeded Smoothly, Inspection to Continue"

On the 15th, members of the People Power Party (PPP) on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee declared a boycott of the National Assembly inspection. They announced that they would no longer participate in the Supreme Court inspection, in response to the Democratic Party pushing ahead with an on-site inspection of the Supreme Court.

On this day, PPP members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held an emergency press conference at the Supreme Court, stating, "The on-site inspection of the Supreme Court itself is clearly illegal."

In the afternoon, ruling party members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, including those from the Democratic Party, visited the main courtroom, the small courtroom, and the justices' chambers at the Supreme Court to conduct an on-site inspection. The PPP requested that the inspection be halted, but this request was not accepted.

Na Kyungwon, a PPP lawmaker, criticized, "They are putting pressure on the court, roaming not only the main and small courtrooms but the entire Supreme Court," and added, "The real purpose of this inspection is to secure a not-guilty verdict for President Lee Jaemyung's trial and to bring the judiciary under their control, which amounts to dismantling the judicial system."

Song Seokjun, another PPP lawmaker, also pointed out, "Interfering with ongoing trials cannot be the subject of a parliamentary inspection," and described the on-site inspection as "an excessive and unconstitutional act."

Shin Dongwook, a PPP lawmaker, stated, "This is clearly an illegal attempt to occupy the Supreme Court," and argued, "They have already decided to label the justices as colluding with insurrection, and it is inevitable to see this illegal inspection as an attempt to find fault."

Kim Yongmin, a Democratic Party lawmaker and the ruling party's secretary on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, immediately held a briefing at the same location and said, "We conducted the on-site inspection smoothly with guidance from the Supreme Court," adding, "We should have conducted the inspection together with the PPP members, but for some unknown reason, they refused to participate and left."

After completing the on-site inspection, the Democratic Party resumed the National Assembly inspection. Kim stated, "As the PPP claims, we are not interfering with ongoing trials, but rather conducting a procedural review of cases that have already been concluded to check for any issues," and added, "The PPP's argument is nothing more than a unilateral claim intended to disrupt the inspection for political purposes."