Chief Justice Jo Hee-de clashed head-on with pro-government lawmakers, including those from the Democratic Party, over a disputed Supreme Court justice renomination and judicial independence at a parliamentary audit of the Supreme Court. Jo said neither the president nor the National Assembly can intervene in nominating justices, prompting pro-government lawmakers to press him over his position and signal legal action.
Pro-government members accused Jo of playing politics under the banner of judicial independence. The presidential office also held to its demand for a swift renomination, further inflaming a standoff over a Supreme Court vacancy now in its 218th day.
Jo: Consultation With President Is Cooperation, Not a Duty
According to political sources on the 7th, Jo appeared before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit at the National Assembly on the 6th as the head of his institution and, in his opening remarks, declined to take the oath as an ordinary witness or testify, citing Article 104, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution. He argued that swearing in as an ordinary witness subject to parliamentary oversight could undermine the separation of powers. Still, he expressed regret, saying he felt sorry that the prolonged vacancy on the Supreme Court had caused public concern. The first Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit of the session ended past 11 p.m. amid fierce clashes between the rival parties.
While apologizing for the delay in filling the post, Jo took the floor to publicly reject the presidential office's call for a renomination. Asked by Democratic Party Rep. Kim Ki-pyo to explain, Jo said, "Would you give me time to answer?" and read from a document he had prepared in advance. "The power of nomination belongs exclusively to the chief justice, and interference with it is unconstitutional," he said. "Past consultations were also voluntary cooperation that the judiciary offered on its own to facilitate smooth appointments, not an obligation, and the chief justice has already fulfilled all constitutional powers and duties through the nomination." He added that it is consistent with the Constitution even if the chief justice does not consult, and stressed that previous administrations had also respected the chief justice's power of nomination.
After fielding questions all morning, Jo skipped the afternoon session, citing poor health, but reappeared in the hearing room at about 10:53 p.m., just before the audit ended. In closing remarks, he said he took to heart the concerns raised by committee members about the vacancy and apologized again for the inconvenience and worry caused to the public. "I will make every effort necessary so that the Supreme Court can be fully constituted," he said, bowing his head.
On controversy over bonus payments and discretionary spending, he acknowledged that there had been shortcomings in executing the related budget and explaining it to the National Assembly as the official ultimately responsible for judicial administration, and promised improvements. He did not answer questions about internal Supreme Court meetings during the martial law episode or about the remand trial involving President Lee Jae-myung. When pressed for further questions, he said he had come to deliver closing remarks and could not take more questions, adding that his earlier statement would stand. He ended the session having reaffirmed his position that interference with the power of nomination is unconstitutional.
Ruling Bloc Warns of Impeachment Grounds as Session Descends Into Chaos
Clashes between the parties raged throughout the audit. Democratic Party Rep. Park Kyun-taek warned that refusing to renominate amounts to denying the president's appointment power under the Constitution. "This is a concrete constitutional violation, and it could well constitute grounds for impeachment," he said. People Power Party Rep. Park Hyung-soo, the opposition floor negotiator on the committee, countered: "Do you want a country where judicial independence is trampled? President Lee Jae-myung, who demanded a renomination with no basis in the Constitution, should appear as a witness."
As tensions escalated, the hearing room descended into a shouting match of insults and heated exchanges. When Progressive Party Rep. Son Sol pressed him, asking whether he was building his political stature under the banner of judicial independence and dreaming of becoming "a second Yoon Suk-yeol," Jo pushed back strongly, calling the remark deeply insulting and sad. During the exchange, People Power Party Rep. Kim Tae-gyu directed a slur at Democratic Party lawmakers evoking the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun, asking whether they had been "scratched by Owl Rock," and committee chair Seo Young-kyo forcibly suspended his speaking rights.
In the afternoon, Seo and Park Hyung-soo, the opposition floor negotiator, clashed directly, leading to an unprecedented situation in which the chair suspended the speaking rights of two opposition lawmakers in a single audit. Park challenged a procedural problem in which a witness for reference, attorney Kim Kyung-ho, began speaking before any lawmaker posed a question, and accused Seo of biased handling for granting Jo extra speaking time earlier in the morning.
When Seo told Park not to encroach on the chair's territory and said, "Look at that expression and the way you're shaking your head. You're just like a gangster," Park shot back: "You're a female thug. You can call someone a gangster, but I can't call the chair a thug?" After an exchange of shouts, Seo invoked the authority to maintain order under the National Assembly Act and declared that Park's speaking rights were suspended. People Power Party lawmakers protested fiercely and walked out, bringing the confrontation to a peak.
Seo also said Jo's absence from the afternoon session, together with his refusal to take the witness oath without justifiable cause, amounted to clear contempt of the National Assembly, and notified him of legal action under the law on testimony and appraisal before the National Assembly. The presidential office likewise did not back down, saying through a spokesperson's briefing that it hoped the renomination process would proceed as swiftly as possible, respecting the recommendations of the Supreme Court justice candidate recommendation committee, so that citizens' right to a trial is not infringed.
Separately, while handling a motion to revise the parliamentary audit plan following the launch of the new prosecution service, People Power Party Rep. Joo Jin-woo and Democratic Party Rep. Park Jie-won sparred over whether to summon Kim Hyun-ji, head of the presidential office's first senior secretariat, as a witness. The parties agreed to withdraw the designation of two witnesses, including Cheonan Prison Warden Baek Sung-hyun, and four witnesses for reference, including former National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon, and to replace a corporate witness with Kwon Oh-jung, chief executive of Woowa Brothers' delivery unit Woowahan Youths.
