Han Min-soo, a supreme council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, called for a prompt decision on whether to impeach Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, as caution over the move persists within the party. His remarks went beyond demanding Jo's voluntary resignation, pressing the party to reach a decision on impeachment.
"Urging Chief Justice Jo Hee-de to step down on his own cannot be said to fulfill the National Assembly's responsibility," Han said at a party supreme council meeting on the 21st. "Our party also must not miss the moment by delaying a decision." He added that the party "must closely examine the accumulated allegations of constitutional and legal violations and promptly decide whether to impeach Chief Justice Jo Hee-de."
Han's comments came as the Democratic Party has discussed the possibility of impeaching Jo while remaining cautious about actually pursuing the motion. Party leaders began deliberating the matter as calls for Jo's impeachment spread, but have not finalized the timing or method. Han made clear that the leadership should delay a decision no longer.
Han pressed Jo by citing trial delays and the expiration of the detention period in cases involving Kim Keon-hee. "The cases involving Kim Keon-hee — the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case, the Unification Church bribery case and the Myung Tae-kyun opinion poll case — were referred to the Supreme Court's full bench in July, just before the election," he said. "The first hearing was held only two months later, and a second hearing is set for tomorrow, the 22nd." He added: "The detention period ends on Oct. 31. While waiting for Chief Justice Jo Hee-de to resign voluntarily, the expiration of Kim Keon-hee's detention has come right before our eyes."
Han urged the court to decide quickly on additional detention ahead of the Oct. 31 expiration of Kim's detention term. "If the court leaves even the question of additional detention unresolved until just before the expiration, with the ruling on the merits already delayed, the Supreme Court will be fueling distrust in the judiciary itself," he said. "If Kim Keon-hee walks out because her detention period expires after the trial has been delayed, public trust in the judiciary will fall beyond control."
Han also criticized Jo for what he described as evading responsibility in the name of judicial independence. "We can no longer leave unattended a chief justice who invokes judicial independence while actually destroying trust in the judiciary," he said. "How long must our people endure a head of the judiciary who takes no responsibility?"