“조희대 사퇴” 압박 수위 높이는 민주…탄핵 추진엔 신중

The Democratic Party is applying pressure on Chief Justice Ji-hui to resign after naming a judiciary candidate without consultation with the executive. However, the party believes national sentiment is not backing a move to impeach Chief Justice Ji-hui. Kim Min-seok, the Democratic Party's representative, instructed a poster reading "Chief Justice Ji-hui must step down" to be hung across the country.

Another Democratic Party representative, Han Byung-do, criticized the "one-sided announcement" of executive appointment powers, calling it a "serious violation of the constitution's guarantee of presidential appointment powers, which seeks to downgrade the presidential appointment to a posthumous seal." Democratic Party lawmakers carried signs stating "Chief Justice Ji-hui must resign" during the pre-closure session of the legislative session.

While Democratic Party leaders cautioned against pursuing impeachment, they considered Chief Justice Ji-hui's appointment method unsuitable for impeachment. Concerns exist that such an action could fuel negative sentiment. Kim Min-seok stated in his first statement as the newly elected party leader that he believes Chief Justice Ji-hui meets the criteria for impeachment but believes it would be better to give the public more time to understand the reasons.

Kim Min-seok also stated that if the party takes action, it will do so with a "perfect 100-point score." However, he believes the chance of Chief Justice Ji-hui resigning without the party taking action is very high. The National Peace Council considered the Democratic Party's call for Chief Justice Ji-hui's resignation as a de facto impeachment pressure and responded that "the impeachment grounds for this president" is Chief Justice Ji-hui's removal.

The party's highest-ranking representative, Jang Dong-hyuk, stated that the appointment of the new party leader is "Chief Justice Ji-hui's impeachment." He emphasized that the president's antics in trying to make Kim Min-seok the party leader reveal the true impeachment grounds. The representative also claimed that the act of Chief Justice Ji-hui not reporting directly to the president is a "constitutional coup d'etat that undermines the separation of powers and democracy."