Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae mentioned King Sejong on the 22nd and said, "The law is not a means of governance to strengthen the king's power." The Democratic Party of Korea responded with anger, calling it an "arrogant sophistry," and said, "I hope you keep it in mind," adding, "The power of the people criticized the government and the ruling party's behavior."
In his opening speech at the "2025 Sejong International Conference" held at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, Chief Justice Cho said, "Sejong tried to realize justice just and fair," and stressed, "The law is not a means of governance to strengthen the king's power, but a foundation to improve the lives of the people."
When Chief Justice Cho's remarks became public, political circles interpreted that he was criticizing the ruling party's recent drive for "judicial reform" and pressure to step down.
"It's an arrogant sophistry," said Kim Hyun-jung, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of Korea, at a briefing at the National Assembly's communications center later in the day. "Who is the one who became the 'king' himself and wielded judicial power, self-proclaimed the 'bulletproof court' and triggered suspicions of interference in the presidential election?"
He added, "It's frustrating that Chief Justice Cho, who undermined the fairness of the law and created judicial distrust by delaying the trial, ruling on rubber band standards, and protecting his family, mentioned King Sejong's 'people' and 'collecting public sentiment'."
The judicial reform promoted by the Democratic Party of Korea is to realize the 'people's justice' that Sejong dreamed of, floor spokesman Kim said. "It is the right responsibility given by the Constitution to reform the judiciary in accordance with the will of the sovereign."
In the meantime, he said to Chief Justice Cho, "Immediately apologize for borrowing King Sejong's name and accusing the people of 'strengthening the royal authority'," adding, "If you refuse to reform yourself and insist on a 'judicial kingdom' that reigns over the people, you cannot avoid strict judgment from the people."
On the other hand, Park Sung-hoon, a senior spokesman for People's Power, said in a commentary, "We criticized the Democratic Party's behavior of shaking the axis of separation of powers by increasing the number of Supreme Court justices, forming a civil war court, and seeking to impeach the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party are going in the opposite direction of King Sejong's philosophy."
"The president has an anti-constitutional thinking that says the legislature is above the judiciary, calling it a "power hierarchy," and criticizing the Democratic Party's rush to push ahead with a bill full of unconstitutional possibilities for their political purposes under the name of reform and expelling the head of the judiciary with absurd fake news has already gone too far," Park said.
"Just as the law is not a means of governance to strengthen the king's power, President Lee should not use the presidency as a tool for his innocence," he said. "He should not use his position to serve people's lives and national interests to destroy the judiciary to cover up his sins."
"I hope that President Lee and the Democratic Party will listen to King Sejong's philosophy. The more attempts to shake the rule of law and the separation of powers, the faster the clock of public judgment against the government and the ruling party will be," Park said.
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The current administration was established by the will of the people who prevented an attempted insurrection. It is working to purge the forces that defied that will—yet the Supreme Court is opposing this effort at every turn.
The judiciary is not the supreme authority in a democratic nation; it is merely one branch of government. It has neither the right nor the legitimacy to obstruct the legislative process.
There is no justification for the current judiciary, which seeks to release the ringleaders of the insurrection and suppress those who defended democracy.
Even now, judges within the courts are working alongside the insurrectionists, trying every possible way to protect and release them.
Those who remained silent during the martial law crisis—like Yoon Suk-yeol—now speak loudly only under a government that respects democracy.
The people clearly see who imagines themselves a king.
Let’s stop pretending not to see what’s obvious.
Cho Hee-dae must step down, and the judiciary itself is in dire need of reform.