South Korea’s Presidential Office Backs Calls for Supreme Court Chief Justice Resignation
In a major development in South Korea’s judicial shake-up, the presidential office has thrown its weight behind demands for Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to step down. Officials say they agree "in principle" that he should seriously consider the public’s push for his resignation, especially amid heated debates over judicial reforms.
The statement comes hot on the heels of sharp criticism from Rep. Choo Mi-ae, who heads the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. In a fiery Facebook post on Sunday, Choo accused Cho of protecting key figures linked to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s controversial martial law declaration. She claimed he’s dragging his feet on their trials, letting them off the hook too easily.
During Monday’s press briefing, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung addressed the issue head-on. "If there’s strong public demand and it matches the spirit of the times, the appointed authorities—like the judiciary—must reflect on why people are calling for this," Kang said. She made it clear that the National Assembly, as the people’s elected voice and guardian of the Constitution, deserves respect. This was a subtle nudge to the judiciary to listen up and rethink its stance.
Kang didn’t stop there. She fired back at the judiciary’s recent warnings against the ruling Democratic Party’s (DP) bold judicial reform bills. "Appointed bodies should trust the legislature’s ability to debate and self-correct, instead of questioning it," she added, urging the courts to engage properly rather than resist.
For his part, Chief Justice Cho has defended the judiciary’s independence. He promised to find the "right path" for reforms but stood firm on keeping the courts free from political meddling.
The drama escalated earlier Monday when DP leader Jung Chung-rae echoed Choo’s call during the party’s supreme council meeting, demanding Cho’s resignation outright.
At the heart of this controversy are the DP’s ambitious judicial reform bills. These proposals aim to supercharge South Korea’s justice system by expanding the Supreme Court from 14 justices to a whopping 30. They also plan to revamp how Supreme Court justices get recommended, change judge evaluations, open up lower-court rulings to the public, and introduce a new preexamination process for search and seizure warrants. The DP wants these changes to boost transparency and accountability in the judiciary.
The party is racing against time, hoping to pass the bills before the extended Chuseok holiday kicks off on October 3. As tensions rise between the legislature and judiciary, many wonder if these reforms will finally break through or spark even more backlash in South Korea’s political arena.
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