"Answer, Cho Hee-dae" vs. "Case Orphan": Ruling and Opposition Parties Heat Up Ahead of Parliamentary Audit

[Financial News] Ahead of the National Assembly audit beginning on the 6th, the ruling and opposition parties have entered a pre-audit showdown over the judiciary, national security and the livelihoods economy. The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) pressed Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to answer directly, citing prolonged vacancies among Supreme Court justices and the budget for the chief justice's official residence. The PPP, meanwhile, highlighted concerns over investigation delays and confusion surrounding case transfers following the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office, while also linking North Korea's ballistic missile launch and public concerns about the economy to the government's responsibility.

The DPK zeroed in on Chief Justice Cho ahead of the Supreme Court of Korea's audit on the 6th, the first day of the parliamentary audit. DPK spokesperson Lee Yong-woo said on the 4th, "The vacancy among Supreme Court justices has lasted 215 days as of today. He cannot simply read opening remarks and remain silent as he did last year. Chief Justice Cho must sit in the witness box and answer the public directly."
The DPK demanded that Cho personally explain whether he disregarded the Court Administration Office's opinion on renomination. It also used the budget for repairs to the chief justice's official residence as a point of attack. DPK floor spokesperson Lee Joo-hee cited the Court Administration Office's request for approximately 2.29 billion won in next year's budget for repairs and renovations to the official residence, arguing, "The judiciary cannot be above the law when it comes to taxpayers' money."
The PPP focused on the fallout from the overhaul of the criminal justice system following the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office. Chief spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon criticized the changes, saying, "Every time a case is transferred, case assignment and records review start over from the beginning. This has added the pain of becoming a 'case orphan' to victims for whom delay itself is suffering."
The PPP is expected to closely scrutinize during the audit the potential delays involved in transferring existing unsolved cases to the police and the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, as well as delays resulting from requests for supplementary or reinvestigations. Choi emphasized, "Justice delayed is not justice. The public's cases and the public's time are not expendable for political slogans."

The ruling and opposition parties also clashed over national security. Marking the 19th anniversary of the October 4 Declaration, the DPK said, "We must restart the dialogue that has stalled." Chief spokesperson Park Seong-jun pointed to North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile capabilities and its laying of landmines, stating, "We will respond resolutely to North Korean provocations." At the same time, he said, "The National Assembly will also work to support the government's policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula and restore inter-Korean dialogue."
The PPP criticized the government's policy toward North Korea, citing its ballistic missile launch. Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk criticized Cheong Wa Dae for calling the launch "a grave act that does not help manage the current situation," saying, "To call it 'managing the situation' when landmines are exploding and missiles are flying is utterly complacent."
The economy and people's livelihoods are also expected to become major points of contention early in the parliamentary audit. The PPP targeted President Lee Jae Myung's assessment that "the country is rapidly returning to normal" and "economic normalization is producing substantial results." Spokesperson Cho Yong-sul said, "It is an attempt to blind the public by making it sound as though the economy has improved based on a single number," while raising concerns about how the economy feels to the public and housing prices.
In the parliamentary audit beginning immediately after the holiday break, the DPK is expected to focus on the judiciary, including Chief Justice Cho, while the PPP is likely to target the overhaul of the criminal justice system and the government's policies toward North Korea and the economy. Clashes between the ruling and opposition parties over the judiciary, national security and people's livelihoods appear inevitable from the first day of the audit.
[email protected] Kim Kyung-min Reporter