Politics · South Korea · 2 hrs ago
Jeong warns impeachment bid against South Korea's chief justice could backfire
Ruling party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik warned that an impeachment motion against South Korea's Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae could lead people to demand President Lee Jae-myung's impeachment.
The warning came after the opposition Democratic Party suggested it might seek to impeach Cho.
Jeong said the move could weaken Lee's presidency, though he was making a political prediction, not describing an outcome.
Jeong also blamed the government for a sharp fall in South Korea's Kospi and Kosdaq stock indexes the previous day.
He accused the government of using pension savings to support the market and said 181 trillion won in National Pension Service funds had disappeared during a stock slump in July.
Jeong called for a parliamentary inquiry and special counsel investigation into the decision to delay the pension fund's rebalancing, saying his party would pursue all available means to establish what happened.
People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik warned that an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae could provoke calls to impeach President Lee Jae-myung.
Jeong said the president would become a “lame duck” as soon as the motion was introduced.
He challenged the Democratic Party to proceed with the impeachment effort if it was confident.
Jeong also criticized a recent explanation of the chief justice’s power to recommend Supreme Court justices.
He separately accused the government of mishandling stock-market policy and called for an investigation into a delay in National Pension Service rebalancing.
- Who
- Jeong Jeom-sik, floor leader of the People Power Party, and the Democratic Party.
- What
- Jeong warned that an impeachment bid against Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae could trigger public calls to impeach President Lee Jae-myung.
- When
- October 16, 2026.
- Where
- At the National Assembly in Seoul.
- Why
- Jeong was responding to the Democratic Party’s suggestion that it might pursue Cho’s impeachment.
People Power Party
Democratic Party
Impeachment bid
People Power Party
Jeong challenged the Democratic Party to impeach Cho if it was confident and warned that the move could prompt calls to impeach President Lee.
Democratic Party
The Democratic Party had signaled that it might pursue the impeachment of Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.
At a National Assembly committee hearing, the minister of government legislation described the chief justice’s authority to recommend Supreme Court justices as a form of recommendation and proposal.
Jeong responded to the Democratic Party’s suggestion of impeaching Cho and warned that it could provoke calls to impeach President Lee.
- Speaker
- Jeong Jeom-sik
- Chief justice
- Cho Hee-dae
- President
- Lee Jae-myung
- Political party
- People Power Party
- Warning made
- October 16, 2026
What people are saying
The moment an impeachment motion is introduced, the president will become a lame duck, and the people will rise up and call for Lee Jae-myung’s impeachment
If the Democratic Party is confident, let it impeach Chief Justice Cho