Legislation and Judiciary Committee Selects Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae as Audit Witness Led by Ruling Party (Comprehensive)

Chief Justice Selected as Witness Over Prolonged Nomination Delays
Additional Ruling Party Approval Amid Opposition Protests

On September 28, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee additionally approved Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae as a witness for the upcoming parliamentary audit.

During a plenary meeting on this day, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee selected Chief Justice Cho as a parliamentary audit witness following heated debate between the ruling and opposition parties. Although floor leaders from both sides temporarily recessed the meeting to negotiate on the witness issue, they ultimately failed to narrow their differences.

Yoon Sang-hyun, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, stated prior to the vote, "I am absolutely opposed to summoning Chief Justice Cho as a witness," adding, "No one should be exempt from parliamentary scrutiny, but such questioning must not infringe upon the authority of the head of the judiciary." He further emphasized, "Interrogating the Chief Justice is not a personal issue but one that encroaches upon, pressures, and undermines the independence of the judiciary."

Kim Tae-kyu, also of the People Power Party, argued, "Through the right to nominate, Chief Justice Cho fully exercised his authority," and added, "It is unconstitutional for the president to make an arbitrary request for the Chief Justice to resubmit a nomination without any legal grounds, overstepping presidential authority."

In response to objections from the opposition, Seo Young-kyo, chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a member of the Democratic Party, noted, "It has been reported that the Supreme Court made individual phone calls to Supreme Court justice candidates, pressuring them to resign. What does this have to do with judicial independence?" Seo continued, "According to media reports, the Chief Justice regularly gave encouragement bonuses to Supreme Court justices. Isn't this illegal?" She further argued, "On the day of the illegal 12·3 Martial Law, the Chief Justice convened an emergency meeting and attempted to transfer trial jurisdiction to the Martial Law Command. Shouldn’t these matters be questioned as well?"

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Kim Kipyo, also of the Democratic Party, stated, "Chief Justice Cho said that there was no countersignature by a cabinet minister concerning the resubmission, but later reversed his position, claiming there was no procedural problem because it was countersigned by the Prime Minister. Should the head of the judiciary make such a careless statement without proper review?" He also criticized the refusal to resubmit, saying, "Even if the Court Administration Office appears in the parliamentary audit and insists the nomination is valid, we cannot ascertain why the Chief Justice isn’t proceeding with it. It is an issue that requires the Chief Justice himself to testify."

With the committee's decision, Chief Justice Cho has now been included in the witness list for the parliamentary audit scheduled for October 6. The stated reason for the witness request is "regarding the creation of an unconstitutional state due to the prolonged failure to nominate Supreme Court justices." In addition, others such as Kim Beom-seok, CEO of Woowa Brothers, have also been selected as witnesses for the audit on October 8 to address issues related to foreign delivery riders.

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