Parliament approves hearing on top judge’s alleged election meddling

Sep 23, 2025, 08:49 am

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Lawmakers attend a legislative hearing on prosecutorial reform at the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee in Seoul on September 22. / Source: Song Ui-joo

South Korea’s parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee on September 22 approved a plan to hold a hearing into allegations that Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae interfered in the presidential election campaign of then-candidate Lee Jae-myung.

The committee, led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), voted 10 in favor and 5 abstentions out of 15 members present. Lawmakers from the opposition People Power Party abstained from the vote.

The hearing, scheduled for September 30, will examine claims surrounding the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned a lower-court acquittal and returned Lee’s public election law violation case for retrial, a move critics argue may have influenced the presidential race.

DPK lawmakers Seo Young-kyo and Boo Seung-chan previously alleged that Chief Justice Cho met with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and others to discuss handling Lee’s case while he was the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

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