Anchor: The ruling Democratic Party(DP) has ramped up pressure on Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de to step down, accusing him of being politically biased in the top court's handling of President Lee Jae Myung's election law violation trial. The main opposition People Power Party(PPP), for its part, accused the ruling camp of trying to secure Lee's acquittal through Jo's resignation.
Kim Bum-soo reports.

Report: Shortly before the presidential election in June, the Supreme Court found fault with a High Court’s earlier acquittal of then-Democratic Party(DP) candidate Lee Jae Myung of election law violation charges.

Ruling Democratic Party chief Jung Chung-rae now says that court decision shows that the top court’s political neutrality has been compromised and that Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de should resign.

[Sound bite: Ruling Democratic Party chief Jung Chung-rae (Korean-English)]
"Wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that Chief Justice Jo decided to risk the fate of the judiciary by fighting against the most powerful presidential candidate of the party with a majority of seats, believing that he could disqualify Lee Jae Myung from the race, or at least influence voters' judgment to defeat him?"
"The Chief Justice must take responsibility for these suspicions that he cannot clarify about the political neutrality of the judiciary. He must apologize and resign."

While raising the issue of a district court decision that temporarily released ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol from detention earlier in March, the DP chief also called for the establishment of a controversial special tribunal to try those involved in the December 3 martial law declaration.

People Power Party(PPP) chief Jang Dong-hyeok immediately responded, saying that the ruling party is afraid of the top court’s judgement on the accomplices of President Lee.

[Sound bite: People Power Party Chief Jang Dong-hyeok (Korean-English)]
"While the five trials of President Lee Jae Myung have been suspended, the trials of his accomplices are still ongoing. If the accomplices continue to receive guilty verdicts, President Lee Jae Myung's trial, after he leaves office, will also end in a guilty verdict, just like those of his accomplices. I believe this fear is the reason the DP is demanding the resignation of Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, hoping to somehow exonerate the accomplices."

While arguing that the biggest beneficiary of Jo's resignation would be Lee, the opposition leader urged Jo to hold his ground and safeguard the independence of the nation’s top court.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.