Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday flatly denied media reports that it sympathizes with calls to impeach Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, which emerged during the Democratic Party of Korea's national convention.
Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in an official notice that reports claiming Cheong Wa Dae supports the impeachment or removal of the chief justice are "not true at all." She added that the presidential office's position is that the recommendation of a successor justice "must be carried out swiftly in accordance with the relevant legal procedures."
Earlier, on Wednesday, Kim Min-seok and Song Young-gil — both candidates in the Democratic Party's party leader primary at the national convention — said they would pursue an impeachment motion against Jo if elected.
The Supreme Court Justice Nomination Committee had recommended four candidates in January to fill the vacancies left by former Justice Noh Tae-ak and Justice Lee Heung-gu: Seoul High Court judges Kim Min-gi and Park Soon-young, Seoul High Court senior judge Yoon Seong-sik, and Daegu District Court senior judge Son Bong-gi. Six months on, no recommendation for appointment has been made. On Tuesday, the committee separately selected four candidates to succeed Justice Lee, who is set to retire in September — Busan District Court Chief Judge Kim Mun-gwan, Seoul High Court senior judge Kim Seong-su, Seoul Southern District Court senior judge Kim Ye-young, and Gwangju District Court senior judge Kim Jeong-jung — and forwarded the names to Chief Justice Jo. Jo is expected to gather opinions from within and outside the court by Friday before selecting a nominee to recommend to President Lee Jae Myung for appointment.
Song said he would pursue Jo's impeachment on grounds including the chief justice's refusal to recommend justices and alleged interference in the presidential election. He argued that the Supreme Court's ruling last May — which overturned and remanded with a guilty finding the Public Official Election Act violation case against Lee Jae Myung, who was then the Democratic Party's presidential candidate — amounted to election interference. Kim then echoed the call on social media, saying he "sympathizes with the intent to pursue impeachment" and would "push forcefully for judicial reform, going beyond prosecutorial reform."
moone@heraldcorp.com
