The group of lawmakers seeking to impeach Chief Justice Jo Hee-de said on the 25th that 112 lawmakers have agreed to the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Jo Hee-de. At the meeting, they also discussed an explanation of the impeachment motion and the future schedule, and it was reported that the number of participating lawmakers could increase.
The group of lawmakers seeking to impeach Chief Justice Jo Hee-de held a meeting at the National Assembly that day, heard the details of the "impeachment motion against Chief Justice Jo Hee-de" and discussed the future schedule. Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Seong-yoon said, "What is more important than institutional reform is personnel accountability," adding, "Unless the public distrust of Chief Justice Jo is cleared, the court cannot be reborn as an institution for the people."
Attorney Kim Kyung-ho, who provided the explanation of the impeachment motion that day, said in connection with the case, "If there were violations of the Constitution and laws in the process of the en banc ruling on the Public Official Election Act case involving then-presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, that would constitute grounds for impeachment." He went on to explain, "Whether there were violations of on-duty obligations and damage to the court's dignity under the Judges' Disciplinary Act, especially violations of the duties of fairness and political neutrality, will be the key criteria for judgment."
Regarding the Supreme Court ruling at the time, Attorney Kim said, "It was highly unusual that the case was referred to the en banc twice and that there was an interim two-hour assignment to a petty bench," adding, "Unlike the usual several months required for deliberations, it took only eight days, which raises serious questions about procedural legitimacy." He also said, "It is difficult to accept that the process from the acquittal on appeal through the transfer of records, deliberation, and ruling proceeded excessively quickly."
He added, "If the case was referred to the en banc, the records should have been delivered to and reviewed by all justices, but there is no confirmation of related records or traces of report preparation," arguing, "There is a possibility that personnel without authority (judicial researchers directly under the chief justice) conducted the substantive review, raising the possibility of due process violations." He emphasized, "As suspicions have also been raised that the Supreme Court went beyond the scope of legal review to make findings of fact and that it violated the duty of political neutrality, this is a grave matter that undermined judicial trust."
Immediately after the meeting, independent lawmaker Choi Hyeok-jin met with reporters and said, "There are almost no people who disagree with impeachment, and even those who have not signed share a consensus that impeachment is necessary." He added, "However, the Democratic Party is demanding voluntary resignation as the party line, and voluntary resignation is desirable in many respects," while also saying, "That does not mean we will not proceed with the impeachment motion."
On the possibility of additional endorsements, Choi said, "We are receiving belated requests to add names, so it seems they will continue to increase." He added, "There are cases where it is difficult to add names in the current situation because some hold party posts in the Democratic Party and this is not a party line matter, but there is a consensus on impeaching Jo Hee-de."