Cho Kuk, interim leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, on 17th made public an impeachment bill against Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.
Chairperson Cho held a joint meeting of the End It to the End Special Committee at the National Assembly this morning and said, "The essence of the public's anger toward the judiciary now is a comprehensive distrust of the Cho Hee-dae judiciary," adding, "This crisis, which the Supreme Court brought upon itself, originated from Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's interference in the presidential election."
Chairperson Cho noted, "The Rebuilding Korea Party will get to the bottom of the fact that the Supreme Court colluded with the forces extending the rebellion and hold them duly accountable," and pointed out, "The respondent, Cho Hee-dae, through an election-interference ruling, seriously damaged and abused the constitutional order, including popular sovereignty, representative democracy, and the principles of a substantive rule-of-law state."
Seo Wang-jin, the Rebuilding Korea Party's floor leader, disclosed three specific grounds for impeachment. Floor leader Seo first argued that the Supreme Court's ruling in President Lee Jae-myung's Public Official Election Act violation case infringed on the "right to a fair trial."
Seo also said that Chief Justice Cho violated the duty of political neutrality and infringed on the right to free election campaigning. Floor leader Seo said, "It can only be seen as having been carried out meticulously according to a prior plan to influence the June 3 presidential election by infringing on defendant Lee Jae-myung's right to hold public office when he was a leading presidential candidate," adding, "By decisively regressing the freedom of political expression and freedom of electioneering that the Supreme Court has actively guaranteed, it seriously infringed on the constitutional rights of the defendant and the public."
However, the Rebuilding Korea Party alone cannot impeach the chief justice. An impeachment motion against a judge can be introduced with the consent of at least one-third of all National Assembly members (100 or more), but the Rebuilding Korea Party has only 12 seats. The party says it will consult with parties in the broader pro-government camp, but the Democratic Party, which holds the key, is drawing a line, saying impeachment is not under consideration.
Park Soo-hyun, the Democratic Party's senior spokesperson, said, "The Democratic Party's position on Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae and the judiciary is a pressure strategy to clearly obtain two answers from the judiciary and Chief Justice Cho."
He went on to explain, "First, as the head of the judiciary, Chief Justice Cho should clearly answer in a way that can allay the public's anxiety so that the Jee Kui-youn rebellion trial is not delayed as a 'bed trial' and does not lead to former President Yoon Suk-yeol being released again early next year."
He added, "Second, please answer the public's question as to why the Supreme Court's remand after reversing the appeal in President Lee Jae-myung's Public Official Election Act case was carried out at such lightning speed," and said, "Beyond that, a parliamentary probe or impeachment is not yet under consideration."