The Rebuilding Korea Party formally handed the Democratic Party's floor leadership an impeachment motion against Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de on the 21st, pressing hard for a joint response. The Democratic Party stopped short of an immediate answer, calling the meeting a matter of "simply hearing out opinions" and saying it would carefully weigh options including impeachment and a parliamentary investigation — a gap in tone between the two parties.
Han Byung-do, the Democratic Party floor leader, met with Rebuilding Korea Party floor leader Kim Joon-hyung for about 10 minutes at the floor leader's office in the National Assembly that day. Speaking to reporters afterward, Han said the Rebuilding Korea Party had "delivered a strong request that impeachment proceedings be pursued." Asked whether he had conveyed the Democratic Party's own position, he said, "Not yet," adding, "There was nothing in particular that I conveyed. We met to hear out the Rebuilding Korea Party's views for now."
On the party's internal deliberations going forward, Han signaled a review from multiple angles, including a parliamentary investigation. "Because this is a pending issue, we are hearing a lot of views from various quarters," he said. "We are listening to a range of opinions from our own lawmakers as well, not just from the Rebuilding Korea Party." On calls within the party for a parliamentary investigation, he added, "That is included in the discussions taking place, and within the floor group we are gathering opinions on several options — that we should impeach, that we should hold a parliamentary investigation, and so on."
Kim, by contrast, described a cautious mood inside the Democratic Party. "We had intended to make part of today's meeting public, including the opening remarks, but the Democratic Party still seems uneasy about it," he said after the meeting. "Even so, we delivered the impeachment motion forcefully and urged action," he said. "We asked for a joint task force among progressive parties and for a position to be settled before Kim Keon-hee's detention term expires at the end of October, and Floor Leader Han replied that he would discuss it in depth internally."
Immediately after the meeting, the Rebuilding Korea Party released a letter it had sent to every Democratic Party lawmaker, citing as grounds for impeachment the Supreme Court's remand ruling shortly before the presidential election, the refusal to resubmit a nomination for a Supreme Court justice, and improper payment of bonuses. Park Byung-eon, the party's spokesperson, said, "We understand that the Democratic Party, as the governing party, is moving slowly," adding, "In November we will consult with the Democratic Party and prepare to speed up the impeachment push."