Motion cites retrial order in Lee Jae Myung case, delays in Supreme Court justice nominations
'People demand clear action,' party says; Cho Kuk also calls for vote date
The Rebuilding Korea Party unveiled Monday an impeachment motion against Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae and urged the Democratic Party of Korea to mount a joint response, proposing the formation of a joint TF and a combined general assembly of lawmakers to press the Democratic Party for a swift decision.
Rebuilding Korea Party leader Shin Jang-sik convened a field supreme council meeting in front of the "Dec. 3 Emergency Martial Law Lifted" memorial stone at the National Assembly and made the motion public, saying the Assembly "must no longer tolerate even an inch of Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae's unconstitutional, unlawful, and politically motivated conduct."
"Just as the National Assembly defeated the Dec. 3 insurrection, it must also put an end to this judicial coup," Shin said, adding that "the only ones warning of a backlash are the remnants of the insurrection — the People Power Party and the 'Yoon Again' forces."
The party listed several grounds for impeachment: violations of the right to a fair trial and damage to judicial independence in the handling of last year's retrial order in President Lee Jae Myung's Public Official Election Act case; delays in nominating Supreme Court justice candidates and refusal to comply with the president's request for re-nomination; allegations of legal violations in the payment of bonuses and the use of operating funds for Supreme Court justices; and Jo's refusal to take an oath and testify as a witness during a national audit.
On the retrial ruling in the Lee case, Shin said the proceedings were "abnormal in a way that cannot be explained unless there was a determination to deliver a guilty verdict." On the nomination delays, he said the power to nominate justices "is not something you can take or leave — it is a constitutional duty that must be fulfilled."
Shin then turned to the Democratic Party, saying "the people are demanding visible, concrete action" and calling on the party to "begin joint action as soon as possible — together with the Rebuilding Korea Party, the broader democratic and progressive bloc, and the Democratic Party itself."
He proposed that the parties "form a joint TF or hold a joint general assembly of lawmakers," adding, "whatever it may be, let us do together what we can do together." The Rebuilding Korea Party plans to deliver letters and copies of the impeachment motion to Democratic Party lawmakers under the names of its own members.
Supreme Council member Hwang Hyeon-seon also called on the Democratic Party to act decisively. "Talk of political backlash or burden that still surfaces in some corners of the Democratic Party is nothing more than the same hesitation we saw during the Yoon Suk Yeol impeachment," Hwang said. "The Democratic Party must make a resolute decision."
Former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk had also called on the Democratic Party to join the impeachment push, doing so through Facebook on Sunday. Cho said Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok should "stop sending vague messages like 'starting discussions' or 'making it official' and clearly announce a date for a full Assembly vote on the impeachment motion."
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