Democratic Party of Korea leader Chung Chung-rae called for Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to resign.
At a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on the 4th, Chung said to Chief Justice Cho, "There is an appropriate timing for resignation," adding, "I hope you will clarify your position."
Chung took issue with Chief Justice Cho's opposition to judicial reform legislation. "Chief Justice Cho asked for deliberation on judicial reform bills," he said. "Is he also playing the ringleader role in resisting judicial reform?"
Chung criticized Chief Justice Cho's lukewarm response during the December 3rd insurrection crisis, including the Western District Court riot. "He remained silent during the Western District Court riot and repeatedly rejected warrants requested by the three special counsels," Chung said. "Does he have no conscience or remorse for snowballing public distrust in the judiciary?"
Calls for Chief Justice Cho's resignation emerged from various quarters within the Democratic Party.
Park Soo-hyun, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, said, "I was so disgusted reading this morning's newspaper that I must ask Chief Justice Cho: You said regarding the passage of the three judicial reform bills, 'Does sudden sweeping change help the public?' But did it help the public when Judge Ji Gwi-yeon suddenly released insurrection ringleader Yoon Suk-yeol by calculating detention periods in 'hours' instead of 'days' as had been done for decades?"
Park continued, "Why was this applied only to Yoon Suk-yeol, just one person among all Korean citizens? Has it been applied the same way to other citizens since then? Why do you say nothing about this?"
Chief Justice Cho had commented on his way to work the previous day regarding the three judicial reform bills: "I ask for careful deliberation until the end on whether sudden sweeping change truly helps the public, or whether there are any harmful elements." He added, "No system in the world is perfect, and improvements should be made with consensus. In that regard, I fully respect the National Assembly's legislative activities, and the judiciary will fulfill its constitutional duties under any circumstances."