Oh Se-hoon calls Democratic Party's push for parliamentary probe of Chief Justice Jo 'an act of tyranny'

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Wednesday condemned the Democratic Party of Korea's push for a parliamentary investigation into Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae, calling it "an unprecedented act of political repression against the head of the judiciary in South Korea's constitutional history" and "an act of tyranny that directly tramples on the separation of powers and the rule of law."

Oh made the remarks in a Facebook post titled "Are they trying to turn the judiciary into a servant of power?" The Democratic Party held a general assembly of its lawmakers at the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon and resolved to proceed with a parliamentary investigation into Chief Justice Jo.

"I cannot help but feel outraged at the Democratic Party's arrogance and recklessness in using the not-guilty verdict in the second trial of the Myung Tae-gyun case as a pretext for a parliamentary investigation," Oh said. "Is it that because their attempt to destroy Oh Se-hoon did not go as they wished, they now intend to slash at and tame the judiciary as an outlet for their frustration?" Oh also called the move "a lowly act of political retaliation that sets back South Korea's democratic history and a direct challenge to the constitutional order," adding that if Democratic Party lawmakers had read the second-trial ruling in the Myung Tae-gyun case even once, "they could never have had the shamelessness to make such claims."

"The truth revealed by this second-trial ruling is unmistakably clear," Oh said. "It has been proven through testimony and records that I never commissioned polling from Myung Tae-gyun or asked him to cover any costs on my behalf. Audio recordings — the substantive evidence — have made it plainly clear that the special prosecutor's indictment rested solely on Myung's false claims."

Oh said the Democratic Party was "deliberately ignoring these facts and evidence while devoting itself to propaganda and agitation," adding that "seeking to hold the chief justice accountable for rulings handed down by individual courts based on evidence and legal principles is an ignorant and barbaric act without precedent in world history."

Oh said the party intended "to use the parliamentary investigation as a stage for publicly mocking and humiliating the head of the judiciary — all to appease hardcore supporters demanding the chief justice's impeachment," and that "citizens are not merely embarrassed but genuinely shocked to see the parliamentary investigation authority granted by the Constitution being abused as a tool for political venting and satisfying the demands of hardliners, with the spectacle set to be livestreamed before the entire nation."

Oh also said "the seats granted by the people are not a blank check," urging the party to "abandon the arrogance of believing that elected power can do anything, and the delusion that power can overturn even the truth, and immediately withdraw the push for a parliamentary investigation into the chief justice."