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🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

South Korea's main opposition party demands Supreme Court chief justice withdraw nomination

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Democratic Party's legal affairs committee urged Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to withdraw his nominations for two Supreme Court justice candidates.
  • The party argues that the Chief Justice's current nomination process oversteps his authority and proposes he consult with the President on new candidates after withdrawing the current ones.
  • The party also indicated potential follow-up actions if the Chief Justice does not comply, and separately discussed the timing for launching a special prosecutor for alleged "manipulated indictments" and "illegal audits."

Members of the Democratic Party serving on the National Assembly's Judiciary and Legal Affairs Committee have called on Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to voluntarily withdraw his nominations for two Supreme Court justice candidates. The demand comes as the party criticizes what it views as the Chief Justice's "imperial" authority in the appointment process.

Kim Seung-won, the floor leader for the Democratic Party on the committee, stated that the party reached a consensus during a workshop. "We concluded that it is right for Chief Justice Cho to voluntarily withdraw the current candidates and then consult with President Lee Jae-myung on the remaining three candidates before re-nominating them," Kim told reporters.

We concluded that it is right for Chief Justice Cho to voluntarily withdraw the current candidates and then consult with President Lee Jae-myung on the remaining three candidates before re-nominating them.

— Kim Seung-wonFloor leader for the Democratic Party on the Judiciary and Legal Affairs Committee, explaining the party's consensus on the nomination process.

This call for withdrawal precedes the party's planned legislative efforts to revise the Court Organization Act, which they argue would curb the Chief Justice's perceived excessive power. If Chief Justice Cho does not comply with the request, the party indicated that further actions would be taken, including his scheduled appearance as a witness before the committee on August 31.

Separately, the party discussed the potential launch of a special prosecutor to investigate alleged "manipulated indictments" by the Yoon Suk-yeol prosecution and "illegal audits" by the Board of Audit and Inspection. The timing for this special prosecutor's launch is still under discussion with party leadership, with current legislative priorities focused on follow-up bills related to the Code of Criminal Procedure. The inclusion of prosecutorial power in the special prosecutor's mandate also requires further deliberation.

If he does not (voluntarily withdraw), we will proceed with his attendance as a witness on the 31st (to the committee) and take subsequent steps.

— Kim Seung-wonIndicating potential actions if the Chief Justice does not comply with the withdrawal request.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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