People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk criticized the presidential office, which expressed what it called "principled sympathy" with the ruling party demanding Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's resignation, saying, "The chief justice of the Supreme Court is the last bastion that protects the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in the Republic of Korea."
At the on-site supreme council meeting held in Busan at the People Power Party's Busan Metropolitan Chapter in Suyeong District on the morning of the 15th, Jang said, "Just because a detention warrant was dismissed once, and just because you don't like the result, the idea of a political group stepping in to install a special panel at the court is an idea possible only in North Korea or China," adding, "The Democratic Party and President Lee Jae-myung have thoughts of destroying the Constitution, so they easily slap on the word insurrection."
He went on, "We will not tolerate anything that harms the judiciary and the independence of trials," and criticized, "Since the Lee Jae-myung administration took office, the judiciary has lain down too easily before power, and now the Democratic Party's lawless blade is aimed at the judiciary."
He stressed, "The independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in the Republic of Korea must be protected by the judiciary itself," adding, "The reason the terms of the chief justice and the president are different is a command of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea to protect the independence of the judiciary."
At the end of the supreme council meeting, Jang took the microphone again and further criticized the Lee Jae-myung administration and the ruling party. That morning, presidential office Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong, during a briefing, responded to remarks by Choo Mi-ae, chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, who demanded Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's resignation, by saying, "We have no particular position," and, "If elected power expresses a certain intent, then from the perspective that appointing power should reflect on it, we have principled sympathy." It came a day after Chief Justice Cho opposed the ruling camp's judicial reform and the establishment of a special court for insurrection, and after the party publicly pressed him to resign.
Referring to the presidential office briefing, Jang said, "The reason the presidential office is expressing this position is out of concern that President Lee's five trials might resume," adding, "They will try to force Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to step down and, before that, overturn the guilty verdicts."
He added, "When the plan to increase the number of Supreme Court justices ran into opposition from the judiciary and became difficult, they shifted course and have been consistently and strongly demanding Chief Justice Cho's resignation," and said, "The presidential office said it has principled sympathy, but in fact, it is not principled sympathy; it is likely what the presidential office wants most."