If the Democratic Party Is So Confident, Let It Impeach Chief Justice Cho

The People Power Party (PPP) strongly pushed back on Monday against the Democratic Party of Korea's escalating pressure over the re-nomination of a Supreme Court justice nominee (the procedure of resubmitting to the National Assembly a candidate whose appointment was rejected by the president), with the issue spilling over into calls for the resignation and impeachment of Chief Justice Cho Hee-de, which the PPP branded a 'group lynching.' It also issued warnings directed at the judiciary.

Floor leader Jang Dong-hyuk pointed to the mandatory trial deadlines in the first through third instance courts for the election law case, saying, "If President Lee's election law violation case had been decided according to the 6-3-3 principle, judicial independence would never have been undermined the way it is now." He urged, "Even now, resume the five trials involving the president."

Lim I-ja, the PPP's policy committee chairman, warned on Channel A radio, "Impeaching Chief Justice Cho would run into public resistance." Senior spokesperson Chung Kwang-woon emphasized on KBS radio, "If the executive and legislative branches begin interfering with the judiciary, the judiciary must resist. All the suspended trials of the president must be resumed." In a statement, chief deputy floor spokesperson Choi Soo-jin described the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's inspection process as "a scene of legislative violence that has stained constitutional history."

The 2026 National Assembly audit will run for 25 days from October 6 to 30, with the audits by the 14 standing committees taking place from the 6th to the 27th. Amid this, disputes related to the judiciary are continuing, centered on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.