Democrats push unprecedented parliamentary probe of chief justice amid impeachment debate

The Democratic Party of Korea has announced plans to pursue a parliamentary investigation into a sitting chief justice for the first time in constitutional history, with follow-up procedures — including the formal submission of an investigation request to the National Assembly floor — set to begin next month.

Political observers say the move is a calculated compromise designed to satisfy the party's hard-line base without triggering a full impeachment push, given that public opinion has yet to coalesce around removing Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae. However, some within the party warn that the probe could draw criticism from both ends — alienating impeachment advocates and moderate voters alike.

Park Seong-jun, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, told reporters after the party's supreme council meeting Wednesday that a plenary session is scheduled for Nov. 5, at which the party plans to submit the parliamentary investigation request against Jo.

After the request is submitted, a separate special committee on the parliamentary investigation — or the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee — will draw up an investigation plan detailing its objectives, scope and the method for selecting witnesses and reference persons, before putting it to a plenary vote. The plan can be passed by a simple majority of members present, provided a majority of all registered members attend, meaning the Democratic Party can push it through on its own.

The party's decision to pursue the unprecedented probe of a sitting chief justice is widely read as a way to sidestep direct impeachment pressure. Hard-line Democratic Party supporters and the Rebuilding Korea Party have long demanded impeachment, citing Jo's conduct following the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration, the Supreme Court's decision to remand President Lee Jae Myung's case for retrial just before the presidential election, and delays in appointing and re-recommending Supreme Court justice candidates.

Party leader Kim Min-seok addressed the probe's rationale Wednesday on the party's YouTube channel, saying "the details of the problems with the Jo Hee-dae judiciary have not been sufficiently communicated" to party members, and that he felt it was better to "be more thorough in the process of reviewing and conveying" those concerns.

Kim acknowledged that some members believe "it would be better to move quickly on impeachment" and that "conditions for impeachment are already in place," but added that "there have always been those with differing views," and that "the party's current stance is moving in this direction" — meaning the parliamentary investigation route.

A poll released Wednesday reinforced the political difficulty of pursuing impeachment. A survey by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI), conducted Monday through Tuesday among 1,000 people aged 18 and older nationwide, found that 50.3 percent oppose impeaching Jo, compared with 32.0 percent in favor — a gap of 18.3 percentage points. The poll used an automated response system, with a 95 percent confidence level, a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, and a response rate of 5.7 percent.

KSOI said the results show that calls for impeachment, which have largely come from within the ruling camp's support base, "have not yet translated into a broader national consensus." The institute added that the key question going forward will be how specifically the parliamentary investigation can establish the facts behind the allegations and build public support for the necessity of impeachment.

Still, concerns persist that a parliamentary investigation into Jo could be dismissed by both sides of the impeachment debate. A two-term lawmaker said he had opposed the probe during internal discussions, warning that the party could face criticism for "a powerful ruling party browbeating the chief justice." Another lawmaker said the investigation "will not satisfy supporters who are demanding impeachment."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party kept up its pressure on Jo after a new arrest warrant was issued for Kim Keon Hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, calling for the Supreme Court to "promptly hand down its ruling in the final appeal."

Floor Leader Han Byung-do said at the supreme council meeting Wednesday that "the issuance of an additional arrest warrant does not erase the responsibility of the Jo Hee-dae judiciary, which delayed its judgment until detention was about to expire." Kim was sentenced to four years in prison at the appellate court in April, but the Supreme Court referred the case to its full bench to consider allegations related to Myung Tae-kyun's polling activities, delaying the final ruling.

Han called on the court to set a date for the full bench to rule on what he described as three key allegations against Kim — stock price manipulation, receiving free polling services, and accepting money from the Unification Church. "The mere fact that a defendant sentenced to prison at the appellate level could have been released due to the expiration of her detention period shows just how far the Jo Hee-dae judiciary's selective leniency is from the public's sense of justice," he said.