Democrats demand Chief Justice Jo appear at national audit; PPP calls it 'humiliation'

The Democratic Party of Korea stepped up pressure Monday, demanding that Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae appear as a witness at the ongoing national audit. The People Power Party pushed back, calling the demand "tyranny and gapjil against the judiciary."

Democratic Party Floor Spokesperson Lee Ju-hee said in a written briefing Monday that "there are no exceptions, even for the chief justice," adding that Jo must appear in person at the national audit as an ordinary witness. The statement came after Jo submitted a notice declining to appear, citing Article 121 of the National Assembly Act, which he argued exempts the chief justice from the obligation to attend and testify.

Lee rebuffed that reasoning, saying the Legislation and Judiciary Committee had summoned Jo under Article 129 of the National Assembly Act as an ordinary witness. "Under the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly, anyone served with a witness summons must comply, notwithstanding any other law," Lee said. "Is the head of the judiciary, who should know the law better than anyone, truly unaware of it — or simply ignoring it?"

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Hyeon-jeong, appearing on KBS Radio's "Jeongyeok Sisa," said Jo was displaying "a sense of privilege and imperial conduct" by filing the non-appearance notice when no chief justice is exempt from the testimony act. "I also get the impression he is trying to avoid uncomfortable questions," she said.

The possibility of impeaching Jo was also raised. Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ju-min, speaking on YTN Radio's "Jang Seong-cheol's News Myeongdang," said he believed Jo's current conduct amounted to a violation of the Constitution. "The longer the vacancy among Supreme Court justices drags on, the greater the harm to the public — a decision must be made," Park said. When the host asked what decision he meant, Park replied, "I think impeachment is a possibility."

Some also suggested Jo may have presidential ambitions in mind. Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ji-won said on SBS Radio's "Kim Tae-hyeon's Politics Show" that he suspected Jo was raising his public profile with an eye toward a presidential run, drawing a parallel to how then-Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol was elevated as a presidential candidate. "There are no real People Power Party presidential candidates right now," Park said, "so I think Jo is doing that sort of thing by building his name recognition."

People Power Party Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik took the opposite view, posting on Facebook Monday under the title "Seven reasons why Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae cannot appear at the national audit." As his first reason, Jeong cited a "lack of legitimacy in the summons," saying it was a unilateral move by the majority party that ignored bipartisan agreement and therefore lacked the legitimacy expected of a representative body of the people.

Jeong also said summoning the chief justice — one of the three heads of state — to a National Assembly audit violated the separation of powers and amounted to "tyranny and gapjil against the judiciary." He further criticized the summons as an attempt to shift blame onto the chief justice for what he called the administration's unconstitutional request to re-recommend a court nominee, saying it muddied the purpose of the audit.

Jeong said there was no precedent for calling the chief justice as an ordinary witness at a national audit, and argued that if the chief justice could be summoned, the president should equally be required to appear as a witness at audits of the executive branch. He added that the head of the National Court Administration could adequately represent the Supreme Court on the matters at issue, and said the summons served no purpose beyond "picking a fight to shout down and humiliate the chief justice."

Five-term lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyeon also posted on Facebook Monday, noting that not a single one of the 44 witnesses and four reference persons requested by the opposition at the confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won had been approved. "They left the witness stand empty when it came to examining allegations that hurt them, yet they are determined to put the head of the judiciary in that same seat over rulings and personnel matters," Yoon said.