Democratic Party to report parliamentary investigation request at the plenary session on the 5th… Initiating adoption of investigation plan next week
Five subjects of investigation… Targeting the circumstances of convening the 'Judges' Meeting' during martial law and the remand of Lee Jae-myung's case
People Power Party warns of total war including filibuster… "An intention to test the waters for impeachment… Intimidating the judiciary"
First parliamentary investigation of an incumbent Chief Justice in constitutional history… Intense debate over judicial independence
As the Democratic Party of Korea initiates the parliamentary investigation procedure against Chief Justice Cho Hee-de, the unprecedented case in constitutional history of placing an incumbent Chief Justice under parliamentary investigation is becoming a reality. The floor leadership of the Democratic Party plans to report the parliamentary investigation request at the plenary session on the 5th and adopt the investigation plan as early as next week or within two weeks at the latest. The People Power Party held a general meeting of lawmakers on the 2nd to discuss party-level countermeasures and urged an immediate halt.
The Democratic Party has put forward five subjects for investigation: the Supreme Court en banc's remand process regarding President Lee Jae-myung's Public Official Election Act case; the Supreme Court's response during the emergency martial law and the circumstances under which Chief Justice Cho went to work late at night on the day of martial law to convene and discuss the judges' meeting; the controversy over the refusal to re-nominate Supreme Court justices; suspicions regarding the execution of business promotion expenses and cash incentive payments; and suspicions of delayed trials for Kim Keon-hee. Cho Gye-won, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, argued, "Power can corrupt if it is not checked, and that lesson should apply to the judiciary as well," adding, "Treating the judiciary as a sanctuary is unacceptable." The party's hidden card is reportedly to focus on the judiciary chief's actions on the day of martial law to question his qualifications and first build public opinion in favor of impeachment.
The People Power Party's rebuttal is sharp. Kim Tae-gyu, senior floor spokesperson, criticized, "They set up the stage for a parliamentary investigation because they fear a backlash if they proceed with an impeachment motion, yet are mindful of their hardline supporters if they back down," calling it "an intimidation of the judiciary to protect President Lee Jae-myung." He pointed out that forcing a parliamentary investigation without even knowing whether the Chief Justice will attend is a scenario designed to provoke non-attendance and add it as grounds for impeachment. He also noted that if impeachment is passed, the regular judicial personnel reshuffle next February would take place without a Chief Justice. Political analysts note that since the current law allows a parliamentary investigation to be triggered by a request from at least one-fourth of registered lawmakers, the opposition party has no viable means to block it. While off-site rallies are being discussed within the People Power Party, some voice concerns that it is burdensome given the year-end budget season.
Less than half a year after the ruling remanding President Lee's case with a guilty intent was issued, the configuration of the ruling party majority questioning the head of the judiciary in the National Assembly is, by any account, putting the cart before the horse. If one is dissatisfied with a trial result, there are institutional channels such as litigation procedures or judicial performance evaluations; a trial cannot be overturned on the political stage of a parliamentary investigation. If not a single verified suspicion remains even after the parliamentary investigation concludes, it will become clear that what this procedure protected was not the public's right to know, but the ruling party's exit strategy.