Kim Min-seok: “Discussions begin on impeaching Cho Hee-dae”

[Financial News] DPK leader Kim Min-seok officially announced on the 16th that discussions had begun on pursuing the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.
Appearing that day on the DPK’s official YouTube program “Minty 07,” Kim said, “Since there are already widespread calls for impeachment, you can say that we have begun discussing it with every possible method and avenue on the table.”
“Up to a certain point, we thought it best not to even mention impeachment and instead give the public a thorough and sufficient process of explanation and understanding, and that is what we have done,” he said. “But now we are putting together all the reasons why [he] must resign.”
DPK lawmakers on the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee later appeared on the same program and backed Kim’s argument.
DPK lawmaker Kim Ki-pyo criticized remarks by Chief Justice Cho during a recent parliamentary audit of the Supreme Court, to the effect that “it is unconstitutional in itself for the National Assembly to audit the chief justice’s power to recommend nominees.” He called them “a highly unconstitutional thought, statement, and attitude.”
“There are more than enough grounds to impeach [Chief Justice Cho],” Kim said, arguing, “He must be impeached now, in this current situation, without question.”
Kim also dismissed concerns raised by some about a backlash. “The polls vary, but I understand that a majority of the public supports impeaching Cho Hee-dae,” he said. “If the DPK, as the ruling party and a party with a majority of seats, does not impeach him despite these grounds, people will question its commitment to defending the Constitution.”
He added, “If we worry about a backlash, it would instead weaken the DPK’s identity or its resolve to condemn anti-constitutional conduct.”
DPK lawmaker Park Gyun-taek said, “Denying the constitutional provision on the president’s appointment authority and violating the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act by refusing to take the oath as a witness during a parliamentary audit can certainly constitute grounds for impeachment. He must be impeached. At the very least, it is time to consider [impeachment].”
[email protected] Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter