Jeong Jeongsik: "Kim Minseok Threatened the Chief Justice on His First Day... How Is He Different from Jeong Cheongrae?"

Jeong Jeongsik, floor leader of the People Power Party, commented on August 20 regarding Democratic Party leader Kim Minseok's call for Chief Justice Cho Heedae to step down, stating, "He claims to oppose adversarial politics and to uphold dignity in language, yet on his very first day, he resorts to blackmail and threats against the Chief Justice." He added, "How is this any different from what former leader Jeong Cheongrae did?"

Jeong Jeongsik, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the party floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on August 14, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

At the supreme council meeting that morning, floor leader Jeong said, "Since it was the first meeting after Kim was elected as leader, I wanted to extend my congratulations and well wishes. Yet, no matter how much of a pro-Myung leader he may be, to have his first statement in office be 'Cho Heedae should step down,' rather than addressing issues of public livelihood, is simply astonishing and disappointing."

Jeong went on to say, "When it came to recommending Supreme Court justices, it was Chief Justice Cho who tried to facilitate smooth coordination with the Blue House. In contrast, it was the Blue House that refused to engage in proper consultation and disregarded the Chief Justice’s unique authority to nominate justices. They are effectively abusing custom to seize the right to recommend justices by wielding the power of nomination," he said.

He then criticized the Democratic Party’s claim that prior consultation with the president is conventional, stating, "The Democratic Party unilaterally passed the request for Chief Justice Cho to appear before the National Assembly without bipartisan agreement. Demanding his presence simply because they dislike the Chief Justice, or unilaterally deciding based on their numerical advantage, both constitute the destruction of political convention," he said, calling it a case of hypocrisy.

The Democratic Party unilaterally passed the request for Cho Heedae to appear before the National Assembly without bipartisan agreement. Whether it's demanding the Chief Justice's appearance simply because they don't like him, or passing the decision alone due to a numerical majority,

Jeong continued, "The very act of insisting on impeachment simply because the Chief Justice did not report directly to the president shows a disregard for the separation of powers." He added, "It wasn’t Chief Justice Cho who staged a judicial coup, but President Lee Jaemyung. Since liberation, the ruling party with the worst record has been the Democratic Party."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.