Chief Justice Cho Heedae: "No Discussions or Meetings with Outsiders Regarding President Lee's Case"

Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae on September 17 firmly refuted allegations recently raised by the Democratic Party of Korea regarding a purported meeting with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

Yonhap News Agency

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On this day, Chief Justice Cho issued a statement through the Court Administration Office of the Supreme Court, titled "The Supreme Court Chief Justice's Position on Recent Allegations Raised by Political Circles," saying, "Recently, some in the political sphere have alleged that the Chief Justice met with former Prime Minister Han and others to discuss the handling of the presidential election law case."

He continued, "However, I make it clear that I have never discussed the aforementioned criminal case with former Prime Minister Han, nor with anyone else outside the court. I have also never had any conversation or meeting of the kind alleged with any of the other individuals mentioned."

Previously, former Prime Minister Han also stated that he had never met with Chief Justice Cho. A former Prosecutor General, who was named as an attendee when similar rumors circulated a few months ago, also stated that he had never met Chief Justice Cho and that they do not know each other.

Democratic Party lawmaker Boo Seungchan claimed during a government inquiry at the National Assembly the previous day that he had received a tip-off alleging that Chief Justice Cho had lunch with former Prime Minister Han and others following the impeachment decision against former President Yoon Suk Yeol in April. At the time, Assemblyman Boo said, "(At the lunch meeting, Chief Justice Cho allegedly said) 'If the Lee Jaemyung case is brought to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court will handle it as it sees fit.' If this report is true, it is not only a violation of the independence and fairness of the judiciary by the Chief Justice himself, but also an unprecedented incident of supporting insurrection and intervening in the presidential election with the intent to transfer power to Han Duck-soo," he asserted.

In response, Democratic Party leader Jung Cheongrae posted a link to an article about the remarks and commented, "If this is true, what should be done about Chief Justice Cho? What should we do about Chief Justice Cho?" Choo Mi-ae, chair of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a Democratic Party lawmaker, also wrote on Facebook, "If true, the Chief Justice's intervention in the presidential election and politics must be immediately investigated."

The Democratic Party has recently called for Chief Justice Cho's resignation, citing the Supreme Court's remand ruling on President Lee's election law case and delays in the Central District Court's insurrection trial.

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