Oh Se-hoon: “The Democratic Party of Korea is taking out its anger over my acquittal by savaging the judiciary” ... calls for withdrawal of parliamentary investigation

[Financial News] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon strongly pushed back against the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)’s push for a parliamentary investigation into Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, calling it political retaliation for his acquittal in the appeals trial of the Myeong Tae-gyun case. He argued that the Democratic Party of Korea was trying to pressure the judiciary by taking issue with the verdict, and called for the investigation to be withdrawn immediately.
On the 28th, Mayor Oh posted a message on Facebook titled “Are you trying to make the judiciary a lackey of those in power?” and said, “The Democratic Party of Korea has finally moved to force through a parliamentary investigation into Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae. This is political persecution of the head of the judiciary, unprecedented in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea, and an outrage that directly tramples on the separation of powers and the rule of law.”
He criticized the Democratic Party of Korea for using as grounds for the investigation the appeals court ruling on the case involving allegations of proxy payment for Myeong Tae-gyun’s opinion polls, which acquitted him on the 23rd.
He said, “Since their attempt to take down Oh Se-hoon didn’t go their way, are they now going to take out their anger on the judiciary by savaging it and trying to bring it to heel?” He called it “low-grade political retaliation that turns back the history of democracy in the Republic of Korea, and a direct challenge to the constitutional order.”
He reiterated his position that the appeals court ruling established that he had neither commissioned Myeong to conduct opinion polls nor asked him to cover the costs. Mayor Oh added, “In particular, the recorded transcripts, which are substantive evidence, clearly confirmed that the special prosecutor’s indictment rested solely on Myeong’s false claims.”
He also argued that it was unjust for the Democratic Party of Korea to hold the head of the judiciary responsible for rulings made by individual court panels.
Mayor Oh said, “Holding the chief justice responsible even for rulings made by individual court panels in accordance with the evidence and legal principles is an ignorant and barbaric act without precedent in world history.” He added, “The Democratic Party of Korea now intends to turn the parliamentary investigation into a stage for publicly mocking and humiliating the head of the judiciary—a political spectacle of shame—in order to appease its hard-line supporters who are demanding the chief justice’s impeachment.”
The previous day, the Democratic Party of Korea held a general meeting of its lawmakers and decided to pursue a parliamentary investigation to uncover various allegations surrounding Chief Justice Cho. The party says there is a need to investigate the refusal to re-nominate a candidate for Supreme Court justice, allegations concerning the use of official-duty expenses, and controversies over political interference and abuse of authority. It aims to report the motion calling for a parliamentary investigation to the National Assembly plenary session on the 5th of next month.
Mayor Oh again criticized the Democratic Party of Korea, saying it was trying to use its parliamentary investigation powers for political purposes. He said, “The seats entrusted to you by the people are not a blank check,” and called on the party to “give up the arrogance that elected officials can do anything and the delusion that power can even overturn the truth, and immediately withdraw the push for a parliamentary investigation into the chief justice.” He warned, “If the Democratic Party of Korea does not stop its reckless rampage, what ultimately awaits it will be the people’s harsh and stern judgment.”

[email protected] Seong Cho-rong Reporter