The Supreme Court decided to hold a meeting of national judges' representatives to address the controversy that arose inside and outside the court after it overturned the guilty verdict in Lee Jae-myung's Public Official Election Act case.
On the 9th, the National Judges' Representatives Conference stated in a notice sent to reporters, "More than one-fifth of the members raised concerns about political neutrality in the courts and the damage to trust in the judiciary, indicating the need to discuss these issues and organize a position at the National Judges' Representatives Conference, and requested the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the National Judges' Representatives Conference." The National Judges' Representatives Conference noted that the date and agenda for the meeting would be confirmed through further discussions.
The National Judges' Representatives Conference is an organization of judges from various courts that discusses judicial administration and makes recommendations to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. According to the rules of the Judges' Representatives Conference, if one-fifth of the judges request it, the chair must convene an extraordinary meeting. The National Judges' Representatives Conference held a vote the day before to convene a meeting but did not reach the required number of 26 members, representing more than one-fifth. As a result, the voting period was extended until the morning of that day to gather 26 members, and the meeting was held.
The Supreme Court en banc overturned the second trial's not guilty verdict in the case against Lee Jae-myung under the Public Official Election Act on the 1st and sent the case back to the Seoul High Court. Following this, there was controversy in the political arena regarding Chief Justice Cho's unusually quick decision and ruling, leading to allegations of interference in the presidential election. In the Democratic Party of Korea, there were mentions of impeaching Chief Justice Cho, and a hearing was scheduled for the 14th.
Posts demanding Chief Justice Cho's resignation also appeared on the internal court bulletin board. Additionally, there were calls to hold a National Judges' Representatives Conference and issue a statement declaring the political neutrality of the judiciary.
However, voices in the legal community are arguing that the Democratic Party of Korea should stop undermining the judiciary. Nine former presidents of the Korean Bar Association issued a joint statement the day before, urging the Democratic Party of Korea, "Cease the undermining of the judiciary that threatens the principle of separation of powers." They stated, "The Supreme Court only processed the election law case swiftly in accordance with the law, and thus it should not be definitively viewed as a political interference act."