DP Criticizes Sentencing Delay for Yoon: "Judicial Disaster Caused by Cho Hui-dae's Incompetence"

Baek Seung-ah: "Proving the Need for a Dedicated Panel for Insurrection Trials"

The Democratic Party of Korea criticized the court’s decision to postpone the sentencing of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has been indicted as the ringleader of an insurrection, to January 13, calling it “a judicial disaster caused by the incompetence of Chief Justice Cho Hui-dae’s judiciary.”

In a briefing at the National Assembly on January 13, Baek Seung-ah, the party’s chief spokesperson, criticized the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 25 (presiding judge Ji Guyon), which is handling Yoon’s trial, saying, “This is the result brought about by Chief Justice Cho Hui-dae’s judiciary, which enabled the organized ‘courtroom filibuster’ and trial delay tactics of the insurrectionist forces.”

She went on to say, “Judge Ji Guyon conducted the trial in an abnormal manner, making offhand remarks and jokes such as ‘Don’t make a sad face’ and ‘It’s cold in the courtroom.’ As a result, what should have been a solemn insurrection trial has turned into a comedy show and has degenerated into an entertainment trial.”

Baek, who criticized Judge Ji Guyon’s panel, added, “This has proven the need for a dedicated panel for insurrection cases,” and called on the judiciary to take measures for swift trial proceedings and strict punishment.

Yonhap News Agency

Cho Seung-rae, the party’s secretary-general, wrote on his social media account that day, “Does this mean that filibusters are now allowed in the courtroom as well?” He urged, “I hope the special prosecutor and the court will respond to the will of the people and the command of the Constitution by sentencing the insurrectionists to the maximum penalty under the law.”

Assemblyman Park Ji-won referred to former President Yoon as “a legal eel, a legal technician, a legal master, and a legal ghost,” and said, “Even after witnessing this, Jang Dong-hyuk, the leader of the People Power Party, and others who chant ‘Yoon Again’ will surely be condemned to hell by history and the people, along with Yoon Suk-yeol.”

Assemblyman Lee Yong-woo described it as “a disastrous collaboration between the insurrectionist forces conducting a ‘bed trial’ and the incompetent judge Ji Guyon,” while Assemblyman Chae Hyun-il called it “a hollow sentencing hearing without a sentencing recommendation.”