Han Byung-do: 'Cho Hee-de should step down over false testimony on incentive payments'

Han Byung-do, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on Tuesday urged Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-de to resign, saying he should "step down of his own accord, even now," after it was revealed that the Supreme Court gave cash 'incentive payments' to its justices. Speaking at a National Assembly audit preparation meeting, Han said, "I hope the chief justice will recognize that it is he himself who has undermined the authority and credibility of the judiciary." The day before, Han said it was confirmed again through the Board of Audit and Inspection's parliamentary audit that the Office of the Chief Justice had paid cash incentives to the court's justices and the head of the National Court Administration.

At the audit, Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Kim Ho-cheol made clear that the party responsible for the incentive payments was the head of the institution—in other words, Chief Justice Cho himself. He went further, adding that the chief justice's regular, across-the-board payments of such incentives constituted a violation of the National Finance Act.

Han pressed, "At the Supreme Court's parliamentary audit on October 6, Chief Justice Cho said he had no involvement whatsoever in the incentive payments—but did he truly have no involvement and know nothing about them?" He charged, "Did he make false statements before the National Assembly to cover for himself?" Han also questioned, "Did he refuse to take the witness oath because he wanted to avoid punishment for perjury?" He criticized the episode as "an unprecedented case in which the head of the judiciary mocked the legislature and deceived the sovereign people."