The motion to appoint People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won as a secretary of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee was voted down. As the parties clashed over handling Na's appointment as secretary and the call for Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to step down, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee descended into chaos.
On the morning of the 16th, the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a full meeting to vote on the appointment of a secretary and to handle an additional request for witness attendance at the legislative hearing on prosecution reform. During the process, the parties traded loud shouts and insults over appointing lawmaker Na Kyung-won as the opposition secretary.
People Power Party lawmaker Song Seok-jun requested a point of order and said, "If Na Kyung-won, recommended by the People Power Party, is not appointed as secretary and the ruling party unilaterally rejects it on the grounds that it has more votes, this is an unprecedented act of tyranny in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea."
By contrast, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Kyun-taek countered, "Na did not enter the National Assembly during the illegal emergency martial law on Dec. 3, did not take part in the vote on the impeachment motion against Yoon Suk-yeol, and went in and out of the Yongsan presidential residence to obstruct the execution of Yoon's arrest warrant," adding, "This is a grave crime that violates the spirit of the Constitution."
That day, the vote on appointing Na as secretary proceeded by secret ballot after all People Power Party lawmakers walked out. All 10 committee members present cast votes against, and the motion was defeated. After the vote failed, People Power Party senior spokesperson for the floor, Kwak Kyu-taek, issued a statement saying, "Unilaterally rejecting the other party's secretary nominee is a serious act that destroys the basic order of operating the National Assembly," adding, "It is nothing but an attempt to manipulate the Legislation and Judiciary Committee as they please."
The parties also clashed over calls for Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to resign. Choo Mi-ae, a Democratic Party lawmaker who chairs the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, wrote on Facebook that day, "Yoon Suk-yeol, a seditionist, and Cho Hee-dae, whom he shields, are in cahoots to disrupt the sedition trial," repeatedly urging, "Chief Justice Cho, step down."
By contrast, Yoo Sang-beom, senior deputy floor leader for operations, said at a floor countermeasures meeting, "By dismantling the prosecution to create a China-style public security system and turning the judiciary into a handmaid of the administration, the Lee Jae-myung government and the Democratic Party are driving this country to the precipice of a Democratic Party dictatorship," adding, "The Supreme Court and the judiciary must stand firm and fight with the resolve to defend their independence on their own."