The People Power Party said the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, adopted Chief Justice Jo Hee-de as a witness for a pending-issue inquiry set for the 31st, and demanded, "Immediately stop the impeachment pre-hearing that seeks to put the chief justice before the National Assembly to shame and tame."
Park Sung-hoon, senior Spokesperson of the People Power Party, said in a commentary on the 22nd, "They say they will summon the chief justice to the National Assembly because the chief justice, under the Constitution, recommended candidates for Supreme Court justice," calling it a coup to seize control of the judiciary.
Senior Spokesperson Park said, "If the nominee not chosen by President Lee Jae-myung is not recommended, is that the destruction of the rule of law and a crime? If a decision different from the president's is made, is that grounds for impeachment?" adding, "What we are seeing now is the Democratic Party's political intimidation of a constitutional institution and collective violence to place the judiciary under the Democratic Party's heel."
Backlash from the presidential office and the Democratic Party of Korea continues over Chief Justice Jo Hee-de's recommendation of two candidates for Supreme Court justice. They say Chief Justice Jo broke the practice of prior coordination with the presidential office and made a written recommendation without prior consultation.
The previous day, the presidential office said of Chief Justice Jo's recommendation, "It was a one-sided notice that did not respect the president's appointment authority."
Choi Su-jin, senior floor Spokesperson of the People Power Party, said in a commentary, "Behind all this unconstitutional outrage lies a single, impure shielded objective: to cover President Lee Jae-myung's legal risk." Choi, the senior floor Spokesperson, said, "The Lee Jae-myung administration must immediately stop the lawless intimidation of the judiciary that destroys the separation of powers."
Cho Yong-sul, Spokesperson of the People Power Party, said in a commentary, "The current impeachment controversy over Chief Justice Jo stems from the arrogance and self-righteousness of the Lee Jae-myung administration, which interprets the recommendation, appointment, and consent authorities held respectively by the Supreme Court, the president, and the National Assembly as if they were the sole power of the president."