Kim Min-seok, the leader of the Democratic Party, criticized Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae on August 19 for his controversial nomination of two Supreme Court justices, stating, "Are you trying to walk the path of a co-conspirator in insurrection? You should resign immediately." Cho had recommended the appointments to President Lee Jae-myung the previous day.
During his first on-site Supreme Council meeting held at the Busan City Party headquarters, Kim recalled former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's desperate plea for impeachment, saying, "Seeing the situation with Chief Justice Cho reminds me of Han Duck-soo, who wanted to run for president and begged for impeachment." He added, "Cho failed to uphold the authority of the judiciary during the insurrection and has not resolved suspicions of collusion to this day."
Kim pointed out that while Cho acted swiftly in intervening in the presidential election, he has engaged in illegal behavior by delaying the appointments of Supreme Court justices for months. He stated, "Cho should have been impeached long ago. As soon as impeachment discussions arose, he acted unlawfully again through circumvention of the law."
He emphasized the issue of judicial manipulation, questioning, "How can a Chief Justice shamelessly engage in judicial manipulation?" Kim declared, "We can no longer refer to him as Chief Justice; he is merely a legal technician."
In conclusion, Kim asserted, "Before the sovereignty of the people, Cho must either resign or apologize. I urge the entire judiciary to rise up and demand his resignation. Otherwise, the judiciary of South Korea will not escape the terrifying wave of judicial reform."
Earlier, Cho had nominated Judge Son Bong-ki of the Daegu District Court and Judge Kim Sung-soo of the Seoul High Court as candidates for the Supreme Court. Judge Son is set to succeed former Justice Roh Tae-ack, while Judge Kim will replace Justice Lee Heung-gu, whose term ends on September 7.
Internally, the Democratic Party is expressing dissent. Song Young-gil, the party's longest-serving member, posted on Facebook the day before, criticizing the unilateral cancellation of a promised visit to the Blue House and stating, "After wasting half a year, is this how we are informed? He notified the appointment through documents without even meeting with the appointing authority, the president. As I have mentioned regarding Cho's impeachment, it is now time for the National Assembly to respond."
Meanwhile, before the Supreme Council meeting, Kim met with Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo. During this meeting, Kim acknowledged President Lee's strong passion for making Busan a marine capital, stating, "The reason we are holding the Supreme Council here in Busan before Seoul is that the marine capital is a national priority." He expressed a desire to convey to the citizens of Busan how much attention the party and government are giving to this issue. Notably, Kim mentioned the absence of Democratic Party lawmakers in Busan, pledging to prioritize the prosperity of Busan's citizens.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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