PPP's Jang calls on chief justice to resume Lee trial; Jeong dares Democrats to file impeachment motion

The People Power Party on Monday strongly pushed back against calls from within the ruling camp to impeach Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae, saying the move was designed "to suspend the chief justice's duties and block the resumption of (President Lee Jae Myung's) trial — because once the trial resumes, he would be dragged straight down."

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok made the remarks at a supreme council meeting Monday morning, also calling on Chief Justice Jo to resume President Lee Jae Myung's trial.

Jang said a recent poll showed 57.5 percent of respondents believed the trial should resume, while only 38.6 percent said it should not. "Outside the Honam region, support for resuming the trial far exceeded a majority nationwide," he said.

"Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae, I urge you to trust the people and make the decision to resume the trial," Jang said.

Jang also referenced the acquittal on appeal of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, saying the special prosecutor had "acted as an indictment vending machine for the administration, only to be struck down by the courts."

He called on the special prosecutor to apologize to the public and drop any plans to appeal. Jang added that President Lee Jae Myung and the Democratic Party were rattled when the courts showed the judiciary was still alive, and said the administration had hastily floated lawmakers Park Gyun-taek and Yang Bu-nam — both members of a group pushing to drop charges — as candidates for justice minister.

"They are trying to turn the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution service into a law firm dedicated to dropping charges against Lee Jae Myung," he said.

Jang also took aim at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit to China on Saturday, saying the US-South Korea alliance was "on the verge of collapse."

"North Korea has deepened its military ties with Russia and is now accelerating economic cooperation with China," Jang said. "With China and Russia opening the back door, UN sanctions against the North are being rendered effectively toothless."

He said the international community imposes sanctions on North Korea because it illegally develops nuclear weapons and launches missiles, adding that President Lee, far from stopping this, was out in front calling for sanctions to be lifted.

PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik dismissed Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's recent announcement that the party would pursue a parliamentary investigation into Chief Justice Jo as "political posturing."

Jeong said the Democratic Party had signaled it would pursue both the impeachment of Chief Justice Jo and a special prosecutor act to drop charges immediately after the national audit. "Even as national crises pile up — security instability, cracks in the US-South Korea alliance, a Kospi crash — the Lee Jae Myung administration's only concern is canceling the president's trial and erasing his crimes," he said.

Jeong said the party "strikes a pose in front of its hardcore base as if it will impeach immediately, but when it comes down to it, fears the backlash." He said the parliamentary investigation was "a cheap trick the party stumbled upon after floundering in the dilemma over impeachment."

He challenged the Democratic Party directly, noting it had filed impeachment motions 31 times under the previous administration — roughly once a month. "For a party that treats impeachment as a habit, if you're going to resort to tricks like a parliamentary investigation, just go ahead and file the impeachment motion right now," Jeong said.

"If the impeachment motion is rejected, the Democratic Party leadership should take collective responsibility by resigning and face the judgment of the people," he added.