The two major parties clashed over Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de's alleged intervention in the June 4 presidential election at a Legislation and Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday.

Democratic Party(DP) Rep. Seo Young-kyo, who accused Jo of discussing President Lee Jae Myung's election law violation case with outside figures back in April when he was the DP chief, said the truth about the chief justice's conduct "must be revealed."

Jo, who was absent from the hearing, has denied having ever discussed trial matters with anyone, including then-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and two others mentioned in the allegation.

DP Rep. Kim Gi-pyo criticized Jo for calling for an independent judiciary, accusing the justice himself of undermining judicial independence.
 
The main opposition People Power Party(PPP), on the other hand, took issue with Tuesday's hearing itself, with PPP Rep. Song Seog-jun accusing the ruling side of attempting to conduct an investigation based on fake news.

PPP Rep. Cho Bae-sook questioned why the standing committee had pushed to extend an upcoming parliamentary audit from one to two days and changed the location from the Assembly to the Supreme Court, suggesting the move could be retaliation against absent witnesses.