Democratic Party spokesperson Cho Kye-won made the remarks in a written briefing, targeting Han's comment on Monday directed at President Lee Jae Myung: "If that's what you want, just declare martial law and become king." Cho said Han "turned martial law into material for mockery while defending Chief Justice Jo Hee-de's refusal to re-nominate Supreme Court justices."
Cho said, "Chief Justice Jo broke constitutional precedent by nominating Supreme Court justices in writing without consultation," and argued that "Rep. Han, who served as justice minister and knows that precedent better than anyone, did not stop at defending it but pushed the debate into mockery of martial law." He added, "In effect, the argument for upholding the Constitution ended up being used to turn martial law into a joke."
Cho also said, "Anyone who understands the weight of that night, which determined the fate of the Republic of Korea, could not use martial law as a subject of ridicule." Rejecting Han's comparison of Lee to the ancient Roman emperor Nero, he said, "Likening a president who has said he will not even seek a second term to Nero is clear distortion meant to incite."
Cho said, "Before defending Chief Justice Jo, 'Yoon Dong-hoon' — a term lumping together former President Yoon Suk Yeol and Rep. Han — should first apologize for the remarks mocking martial law," and added, "Stop the attention-seeking politics of carelessly invoking 'Lee Jae Myung martial law' before a public that remembers the night of Dec. 3, and instead cooperate faithfully with the investigation into your own alleged crimes."
Han had criticized Lee on Facebook on Monday after the presidential office criticized Chief Justice Jo's refusal to re-nominate. "The Constitution guarantees the chief justice's nomination power precisely so that the president cannot do as he pleases, yet President Lee insists he can order the chief justice to keep re-nominating until the choices suit him," Han said.
