Home > National > Politics

Chief Justice Jo declines to attend Tuesday's parliamentary hearing

Published: 28 Sep. 2025, 17:44

Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de walks into the Supreme Court in southern Seoul on Sept. 26. [YONHAP]

Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de will not attend an emergency parliamentary hearing scheduled for Tuesday, held on the suspicion of judicial interference in a ruling that returned President Lee Jae Myung’s election law case to a lower court.

Jo submitted a letter of nonattendance to the committee on Friday, according to the Supreme Court on Sunday. The hearing was organized at the request of the Democratic Party (DP), which took issue with a May ruling by the Supreme Court’s Grand Bench that sent then-presidential candidate Lee’s election law violation case back to a lower court. The DP accused the ruling of being a “suspicion of presidential election interference” and called Jo and other justices as witnesses.

Lee was indicted for allegedly making false statements during a televised interview in the 2022 presidential race. He denied knowing Kim Moon-ki, a Seongnam Development Corporation official who was later found dead in what police described as a likely suicide. Prosecutors argued that Lee and Kim had worked closely during Lee’s tenure as mayor of Seongnam and that his denial was intended to distance himself from the Daejang-dong land development scandal, a controversial urban development project in Seongnam that sparked allegations of preferential treatment and massive profits for private investors.

Lee was acquitted in the appellate court in his election law case, but Chief Justice Jo overturned the ruling in the Supreme Court and sent the case back to a lower court.

President Lee Jae Myung heads home from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Sept. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Jo reportedly cited the constitutional principle prohibiting interference in the judiciary and the independence of the courts in explaining his decision not to attend. In May, he also submitted a similar letter of nonattendance ahead of a previous hearing on the same issue, referencing Article 103 of the Constitution, which guarantees judicial independence, and Article 65 of the Court Organization Act, which prohibits disclosure of deliberations.

Legal sources noted that a sitting chief justice has never appeared at a National Assembly hearing related to a specific ruling, calling Jo’s decision a predictable one. Typically, the Minister of the National Court Administration appears before the National Assembly to speak on administrative matters unrelated to ongoing trials.

The DP strongly criticized Jo’s refusal and is exploring countermeasures.

“Chief Justice Jo must attend the hearing to clear up the suspicions,” said Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui of the DP during a press briefing at the National Assembly on Sunday. “This is the last opportunity to dispel public doubts and restore trust in the judiciary.”

Rep. Kim Yong-min of the DP on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee said during a radio interview that the committee could re-summon Jo or even pursue legal action against him for failing to appear.

“We are also considering an on-site inspection at the Supreme Court,” Kim said.

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 BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]