The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Wednesday maintained pressure on the judicial branch, vowing to launch a parliamentary investigation into Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de in December.
On Wednesday, Democratic Party senior spokesperson Rep. Park Sung-joon said the party will submit the motion to launch a parliamentary investigation on Nov. 5, pass the motion in a plenary session on Nov. 12 or Nov. 19, and summon witnesses.
This followed the party's decision Tuesday to launch a parliamentary investigation into several issues linked to Jo, including his decision to not recommend alternative Supreme Court justice candidates after President Lee Jae Myung rejected Jo's candidate.
The party has also claimed that Jo was allegedly involved in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's attempt to impose martial law in 2024, and was responsible for the top court's expenditure that it described as "excessive."
Such a move followed a Supreme Court ruling Tuesday to issue a new warrant for Yoon's wife Kim Keon Hee to keep her in custody for another two months until the end of December.
Kim has been in custody since September for her involvement in stock manipulation and bribery. She currently awaits a top court verdict on a four-year jail sentence and the 50 million won ($37,390) fine handed to her by the appellate court. She was also handed a five-year prison term in September for her role in a separate pay-to-play corruption case.
Democratic Party leaders held the Supreme Court, led by Jo, accountable for its delayed process to finalize Kim's prison term, adding that its decision to keep Kim detained is a "decision based on common sense."
"Had the outcome been any different, it would have crossed a critical threshold for the public," Rep. Kim Min-seok, chair of the Democratic Party, said in the party's own podcast Wednesday.
"We reiterate our call for a swift, final legal ruling regarding (former first lady) Kim. It is a step that is only normal."
Democratic Party whip Rep. Han Byung-do in a party meeting Wednesday blasted Jo's Supreme Court for its "selective leniency," adding that the top court's issuance of an additional arrest warrant for former first lady Kim "does not absolve the judiciary of its responsibility" for its delays.
The main opposition People Power Party called the move to launch a state investigation a "barbaric assault" on the judicial branch
"The parliamentary investigation proposed by the Democratic Party is nothing more than a persistent and vicious act of aggression against an individual," Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig, floor leader of the People Power Party, wrote on Facebook.
"The People Power Party will stand firm and fight against this barbaric assault. We also call upon the judiciary to use its authority to resist this reckless and outrageous onslaught."
Rep. Jeon Eun-su, another lawmaker of the Democratic Party, slammed Jeong for "intending to turn Jo into an untouchable figure beyond any form of oversight" in response to Jeong's remarks.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
