Pro-government bloc submits impeachment motion against Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae despite ruling party’s distancing
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- 2026-03-12 15:55:52
- Updated
- 2026-03-12 15:55:52
Twelve lawmakers, including independent lawmaker Hyukjin Choi, a member of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, as well as members of the Democratic Party of Korea, the Rebuilding Korea Party, and the Social Democratic Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly that day. They stated, "Recently, Cho Hee-dae’s judiciary has used judicial independence as a shield to shake the constitutional order and undermine the political neutrality of the courts."
The push to impeach Chief Justice Cho first emerged mainly among hardliners in the Democratic Party of Korea after ruling-party-led judicial reform bills passed the National Assembly. However, the issue has never been formally discussed at the party level. Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae also pressured Cho at the end of February, saying he should "explain his position and future course," but the party leadership drew a line, stating that there were no official plans to pursue impeachment.
Nevertheless, within the broader pro-government camp, momentum has been building through events such as public hearings on impeaching Chief Justice Cho and signature drives in support of impeachment.
Min Hyung-bae of the Democratic Party of Korea said, "The fact that the party will not pursue this as an official party line and the views of individual lawmakers, who are independent constitutional actors, can very well differ," adding, "We will begin collecting signatures starting today."
Kim Jun-hyung of the Rebuilding Korea Party also noted, "Our party was the first to submit an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Cho," and added, "If Democratic Party lawmakers gather around this effort, our party is ready for all of our members to sign on as well."
jiwon.song@fnnews.com Reporter Song Ji-won Reporter