Democrats play impeachment card against Chief Justice Cho as breakthrough to revive approval ratings
The Democratic Party has formally moved to discuss the impeachment of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Cho Hee-de, seeking a breakthrough to reverse its sagging approval ratings.
Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party, recently declared his intention to pursue the impeachment of Chief Justice Cho. The move comes as both the party and the government remain mired in an approval slump. With the ruling camp in turmoil — hard-liners publicly clashing with President Lee Jae-myung over the appointment of first Serious Crime Investigation Office chief Kim Ji-yong — the party finds itself in a situation where rallying its hard-line base has become urgent, observers say.
Why the impeachment card now?
Behind the move lies a string of setbacks. Issues related to Shincheonji and the conflict over Kim Ji-yong's appointment have shaken the ruling camp from within. Ruling camp figures have openly floated the impeachment of Chief Justice Cho and passage of the special prosecutor law for fabricated indictments as remedies for declining approval ratings. On Kim Ou-joon's News Factory radio program, the two measures were presented together as a way to reverse the polls, while Jeon Yong-gi, the party's Supreme Council member, also cited one of them on YTN Radio as a solution. This is why critics say the impeachment drive reflects political calculation ahead of any legal judgment.
A petition for the impeachment of Chief Justice Cho is reported to have already been submitted to the National Assembly. However, for the petition to lead to a formal impeachment motion, it must go through review by the Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, among other procedures. Observers largely see the actual filing of a motion as still uncertain. If filed, it would require a motion backed by at least one-third of sitting lawmakers, approval by a majority, and then adoption by at least six justices of the Constitutional Court.
Divided calculations on both sides
Even within the Democratic Party, views differ. Hard-liners argue the impeachment card should be played immediately, while more moderate voices contend that the rationale of 'establishing a fair investigation system' must first be solidified through the legislative process. The main opposition People Power Party, meanwhile, pushed back head-on. Chief Spokesman Park Chung-kwon claimed that "the moment the Democrats file the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Cho, the people will cry out for 'the impeachment of Lee Jae-myung,'" arguing the move itself would backfire. The PPP has countered with its own special prosecutor and parliamentary investigation cards, citing the stock market plunge and alleged misconduct by the National Election Commission.
Concerns have also been raised about the abuse of impeachment against the judiciary. Impeaching a chief justice could be seen as political defiance of a court ruling, and caution is gaining ground given that such a move would be an extraordinarily exceptional procedure in the country's constitutional history. Conversely, hard-liners in the ruling camp argue that judicial normalization is tied to the long-running debate over prosecutorial reform and that swift action is needed.
Political calendar and outlook
A key variable is the National Assembly schedule. If the impeachment motion is taken up during the regular session along with the fabricated-indictment special prosecutor law, the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties is highly likely to intensify further. The Democratic Party appears to be pursuing a strategy of pushing the impeachment discussion and the special prosecutor bill in parallel, aiming simultaneously to rally its base and build the case for judicial reform.
That said, even if an impeachment motion is filed, the chances of success remain uncertain given the high threshold for Constitutional Court approval. Now that the ruling camp's infighting has settled, the key question is whether the impeachment card will actually lift approval ratings or, as the PPP has warned, trigger a backlash of public calls for 'the impeachment of Lee Jae-myung.' The prevailing view is that neither the timing of a motion nor the outcome of a vote can be predicted with confidence until the process moves into full swing.
