Jang Dong-hyuk: “Impeachment of Cho Hee-dae is a parliamentary coup ... aimed at blocking Lee’s trial”

[Financial News] People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk criticized the Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) push to impeach Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae on the 19th, calling it “a parliamentary coup that destroys the separation of powers, and a genuine insurrection,” and saying, “They are trying to suspend the chief justice from his duties to prevent President Lee Jae-myung’s trial from resuming.”
At a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly that day, Jang said, “They know better than anyone that this does not even begin to qualify as impeachment,” and claimed, “Even if they force it through the National Assembly, there is zero chance it will be upheld.”
He said, “In the end, the real goal is not impeachment but suspending the chief justice from his duties,” adding, “They are trying to prevent the regular judicial appointments scheduled for next February.” He went on to allege, “They fear that Lee’s trial could resume if the panel changes, so they are conspiring with the Constitutional Court to suspend the chief justice from his duties.”
He also raised the possibility that the DPK might pursue a special counsel investigation related to dropping the indictments after the parliamentary audit. Jang lashed out, saying, “They have abandoned people’s livelihoods and are going all in on saving Lee Jae-myung,” and, “They have turned the government and the ruling party into a law firm shielding Lee Jae-myung.”
He warned, “Go ahead and try pushing through either the chief justice’s impeachment or the dropping of the indictments,” adding, “You’ll all end up in prison trying to protect an unqualified president.”
Jang also focused his attacks on Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae over cuts to the fire service budget.
Taking aim at the governor’s recent apology, he called it “an unprecedentedly outrageous remark that mocked firefighters twice and made a mockery of the public,” and claimed, “She cut 2.65 billion won from the budget for purchasing fire engines, while buying herself a new car despite having a perfectly good one.”
He continued, “The memorial program for firefighters who died in the line of duty got just 100 million won, and even that was cut entirely,” criticizing her by saying, “The deposit alone on the 47-pyeong apartment she moved into as her official residence was 1.2 billion won.”
Jang said, “The one siphoning off residents’ hard-earned tax money is Governor Choo herself,” and criticized her, saying, “At a time when she has little time to spare even for looking after residents’ safety, she meddles in national politics and is being called the ‘Yeouido governor.’”
He also criticized President Lee’s response at the time of a national incident, urging him to “step down immediately if he has no intention of protecting public safety.”
On the recent stock market plunge and problems with real estate and prices, he highlighted what he called the government’s failed economic policies. Jang said, “Seoul apartment prices have surged for 88 straight weeks, jeonse has disappeared, and monthly rents are soaring sky-high,” adding, “Yet the president is busy devising tax bombs.” He cited worsening economic conditions for ordinary people, saying, “Consumer price inflation reached 2.9% in September, and the number of employed young people fell by 147,000 from a year earlier.”
On the stock market, he claimed, “As the KOSPI has plunged for seven consecutive trading days, the amount of forced liquidations alone among retail investors who borrowed money to invest has reached 300 billion won,” and, “After mobilizing pension funds to prop up the stock market for electoral purposes, 182 trillion won in National Pension Service assets evaporated in the third quarter alone.”
He denounced the administration, saying, “Only the people who trusted the president ended up looking foolish. The whole country has become a victim of Lee Jae-myung’s stock-trading chatroom scam,” and, “The people are fighting to survive day by day, while this administration only engages in power struggles.”
People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik also took issue with the government’s live broadcasts of Cabinet meetings and the president’s social media activity.
Jeong said, “The Lee Jae-myung government hides what should be made public while merely pretending to communicate with the public through its Cabinet meeting livestream show.” He called for the release of minutes related to the postponement of National Pension Service rebalancing and reports on North Korea’s planting of land mines south of the Military Demarcation Line. He asked, “Is shouting at civil servants in front of cameras what the government calls communication, while keeping matters involving people’s lives and property secret?”
He also referred to Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Governor Woo Sang-ho and Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae as the “Choo-Woo-Park trio,” urging them to focus on local administration.
Jeong urged them, saying, “They still seem to mistakenly think they are the chair of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Blue House senior secretary for political affairs, and the DPK floor leader,” and, “Put aside your lingering attachment to national politics and focus on responsible administration as representatives of your respective regions.”

[email protected] Kim Gyeong-min Reporter