Seoul: The National Assembly on Wednesday proposed a special counsel investigation into allegations that the Supreme Court interfered in the upcoming presidential election by abusing its judicial authority in the retrial of Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung. The Assembly's legislation and judiciary committee put forth the bill calling for an independent prosecution investigation into Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae and other high-ranking court officials over alleged abuse of power and election meddling.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the bill was introduced after Chief Justice Cho and other court officials refused to attend a parliamentary hearing concerning the retrial of Lee. The Supreme Court has sent Lee's retrial case back to a lower court for review, a move that could potentially overturn Lee's previous not-guilty verdict on election law violations stemming from his time as a provincial governor.
The bill was proposed during a plenary meeting, with the backing of the DP, which holds a parliamentary majority, along with the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party. The conservative People Power Party (PPP) opposed the bill. In a written explanation to the committee, Cho said his attendance could infringe upon judicial independence and that it would be inappropriate for him and other court officials to participate in the hearing related to an ongoing case. Cho argued that the hearing runs counter to constitutional provisions that guarantee the independence of the judiciary, as well as laws that ensure the confidentiality of judicial deliberations and limit parliamentary investigations into court proceedings.
Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jung Chung-rai of the DP vowed to pass the bill during his term as the committee chair, stating there is strong public demand for the special counsel bill. The PPP criticized the proposed bill as an attempt to impeach the top court's chief justice and called it "an international shame" that the DP has introduced the legislation only because Lee's verdict could be reversed.
Parliament seeks to delve into the top court's recent ruling that ordered Lee's case to be retried, overturning a lower court's not-guilty verdict for Lee over alleged election law violations. The DP has accused the Supreme Court of rushing the proceedings to hand down a swift verdict on Lee, which it claims could influence the June 3 election. As a guilty verdict could bar the presidential front-runner from running in the race, the Seoul High Court postponed the first hearing of the retrial case until after the vote.
The PPP accused the hearing of being the DP's attempt to pressure the top court in favor of its presidential candidate, with its floor leader Kweon Seong-dong labeling the unprecedented move a "legislative coup."