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PPP blasts upcoming parliamentary hearing targeting chief justice as threat to separation of powers

Published: 23 Sep. 2025, 18:51 Updated: 23 Sep. 2025, 19:28

Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party, wearing pink, protests a disciplinary order issued by Rep. Choo Mi-ae of the Democratic Party, who is also chair of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, during a legislative hearing on prosecutorial reform held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Sept. 22. [YONHAP]

The People Power Party (PPP) launched a fierce attack Tuesday against a parliamentary hearing scheduled for Sept. 30 targeting Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, calling it a grave threat to the constitutional balance of power.

“The Democratic Party’s reckless abuse of power has gone too far,” said PPP floor leader Rep. Song Eon-seog during a party strategy meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul.

“They’re opening an unprecedented hearing for the Supreme Court chief based on conspiracy theories and fake news,” he said. “If the hearing proceeds as planned, Sept. 30, 2025, will be remembered as the day the separation of powers died — and the day the National Assembly lost its legitimacy.”

Song added that even during the authoritarian regimes of Presidents Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan from the 1960s to ‘80s, the Blue House and National Assembly “did not humiliate or attempt to oust a sitting Supreme Court chief justice.”

“We urge the Democratic Party not to commit this historic wrong,” he said.

The National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee approved the emergency hearing plan on Monday, despite strong opposition from PPP lawmakers. The Democratic Party (DP) alleges that Jo’s ruling on May 1, which overturned an appellate court's acquittal of President Lee Jae Myung in a case involving election law violations, amounted to judicial meddling in the election.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de speaks during the opening address at the 2025 Sejong International Judicial Conference, held at the Shilla Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Sept. 22. [YONHAP]

Jo, other sitting Supreme Court justices and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo are to be summoned that day to testify on the allegations.

The DP is also set to seek clarification on an alleged meeting between Chief Justice Jo and Han.

This marks the first time the governing party has attempted to summon an incumbent Supreme Court chief justice and sitting justices to a legislative hearing. The DP made a similar attempt on May 14, before Lee became president, but none of the summoned justices appeared.

On Tuesday, Rep. Na Kyung-won, a PPP member of the judiciary committee, directly criticized the committee chair, DP Rep. Choo Mi-ae.

“If they wanted to push this through, they should have first consulted with our party. There was no procedural discussion whatsoever,” Na said. “The committee has become a lawless body, and Choo is enabling a takeover of the judiciary.”

Na also accused the DP of using the hearing as a prelude to impeach Chief Justice Jo.

“If they pass an impeachment motion, Jo will immediately be suspended from duty,” she said, “and they will then try to hand over control to Justice Lee Heung-gu — a member of a progressive judicial group and an appointee of the Moon Jae-in administration — to consolidate their grip on the judiciary and destroy the rule of law.”

The minor Reform Party echoed the criticism. Rep. Chun Ha-ram, the party’s floor leader, said on Channel A radio on Tuesday, “Whenever something doesn’t go their way, the DP calls for dismantling the prosecution or demands the resignation of judges. If we applied that same standard, the National Assembly would have been dissolved 10 times, and the speaker would have had to resign 100 times.”

The DP fired back, defending the hearing's legality.

DP Rep. Kim Yong-min said on BBS radio the same day that the hearing was well within parliamentary procedure.

“This is not some grave constitutional violation — it’s simply enforcing the powers granted to the National Assembly by law,” he said, adding that public trust in the judiciary has been severely shaken by controversial rulings.

“People are angry, and they feel they can’t trust the courts,” Kim said. “The National Assembly, as a representative body of the people, has the duty to conduct oversight. The PPP’s objections, citing separation of powers, are misguided.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM GYU-TAE,HA JUN-HO,YANG SU-MIN [[email protected]]