Park Jungha of People Power Party: "Democratic Party’s Distrust of Cho Hee-dae Is Due to Lee’s Retrial, Not Martial Law"

Chief Justice Cho reportedly pointed out unconstitutionality on the day of martial law
and instructed refusal of liaison officer dispatch
Park Jungha: "The Democratic Party is being swayed by hardline supporters"

With the decision not to indict Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae by the Special Investigation on the Internal Conflict now public, Park Jungha, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out, "The Democratic Party's distrust of Chief Justice Cho is not because of martial law, but because of the retrial of Lee Jaemyung's presidential election law case." In an interview on MBC Radio's "Kim Jongbae's Focus" on the 23rd, Park stated, "The Democratic Party seems to have endless distrust of Chief Justice Cho, almost an obsession that nothing he touches should be allowed."

Park Jungha, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out that "the Democratic Party's distrust of Cho Heedae is not because of martial law but because of the retrial of Lee Jae-myung's presidential election law case." Photo by The Asia Business Daily DB

Park added, "Their distrust of Chief Justice Cho stems from the retrial of President Lee, so they are not very interested in anything that happened afterward. In fact, the investigation must have taken place earlier than the special investigation's announcement. Seeing that this fact has only now come to light, it seems there was never any intention to defend Chief Justice Cho or to correct any misunderstandings about his alleged support for martial law."

Regarding the law on the special court for internal conflict cases, he said, "If there is even the slightest possibility of unconstitutionality, the Democratic Party's intended purpose could be undermined. Because the issue of constitutionality cannot tolerate even a minor flaw, I do not understand why the Democratic Party is pushing so hard." He continued, "Even the regulations announced by the court last week could resolve many of the issues the Democratic Party wants addressed, so I wonder why they are going to such lengths. Just like the People Power Party, the Democratic Party also seems to be swayed too much by its hardline supporters and lawmakers."

According to the Special Investigation on the Internal Conflict, Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae was found to have pointed out the unconstitutionality of martial law during a meeting with Cheon Daeyeop, Director of the Court Administration Office, and other administrative officials on the day martial law was declared, and instructed them to refuse the dispatch of a liaison officer from the Martial Law Command. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

According to the Special Investigation on the Internal Conflict, on the day martial law was declared, Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae pointed out the unconstitutionality of martial law during a meeting with Cheon Daeyeop, Director of the Court Administration Office, and other administrative officials, and instructed them to refuse the dispatch of a liaison officer from the Martial Law Command. In accordance with Chief Justice Cho's instructions, the Court Administration Office rejected the request from the Martial Law Command to dispatch a liaison officer. After the National Assembly passed the motion to lift martial law, the following day, the judiciary discussed and concluded a meeting on public notices and other matters necessary for the normal operation of the courts.

It was also confirmed that the administrative officials voluntarily gathered at the Court Administration Office after confirming the declaration of emergency martial law. Furthermore, it was found that there was no discussion about taking follow-up measures based on the legality of emergency martial law, as all the officials agreed with Chief Justice Cho's view that it was unconstitutional.

The special investigation team stated, "While it appears that some attendees reviewed or exchanged opinions on relevant laws regarding the conduct of trials under martial law, these discussions were confirmed to have taken place before the suspects arrived. Therefore, the cases against Chief Justice Cho and Director Cheon for engaging in important duties related to internal conflict were dismissed as groundless."