Jang Dong-hyuk, the representative of the People's Power, and Chung Je-sik, the floor leader, are entering the Supreme Council held at the National Assembly on the 24th. [Yonhap News] 사진 확대 Jang Dong-hyuk, the representative of the People’s Power, and Chung Je-sik, the floor leader, are entering the Supreme Council held at the National Assembly on the 24th. [Yonhap News]

Jang Dong-hyuk, representative of People’s Power, urged President Lee Jae Myung to resume his trial on the 24th and criticized the government’s foreign and security policies as “self-destructive diplomacy, not independent diplomacy.”

“President Lee claimed to be a ‘facemaker’ when the possibility of a summit between the U.S. and North Korea was discussed, but neither the U.S. nor North Korea seems to intend to put us on the board,” Jang said at a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly.

“The U.S. did not discuss reducing the South Korea-U.S. joint exercise, and North Korea fired missiles into the East Sea as if mocking President Lee,” he said. “China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi acknowledged North Korea’s two-state theory in talks with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, calling it South Korea and Joseon, and refused to allow South Korean lawmakers to visit China.”

“It is President Lee’s disastrous diplomatic report card that the U.S. passes, North Korea ridicules, and China ignores,” he said.

“It’s not a pacemaker, it’s a trouble maker who gets into an accident whenever he opens his mouth,” CEO Jang said. “If the U.S., North Korea and China sit at the same table without South Korea, who will protect the national interest and security of the Republic of Korea?”

“We need to immediately stop gambling that risks the lives of the people and the fate of the country,” he said. “We need to stop trying to take back reckless wartime operational control and dismantle the Korea-U.S. alliance and change our North Korea and security policies entirely.”

Representative Jang also launched an offensive against the ruling party’s criticism of Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae over the recommendation of Supreme Court candidates. He argued, “The reason why the Blue House and the Democratic Party of Korea have attacked Chief Justice Cho is that they want to appoint a Supreme Court justice that suits the president’s taste, but Chief Justice Cho does not respond.”

“Under the constitution, the Supreme Court is recommended by the Chief Justice and appointed by the President with the consent of the National Assembly,” he said. “There is no reason to consult or coordinate with the President in advance, and if you force it, it is an unconstitutional act that violates judicial independence.”

“If all 26 Supreme Court justices are filled with pro-life Supreme Court justices, the standard of judgment will eventually become power and the damage will go to the people,” he said. “The collapse of the judiciary is the death sentence of democracy.”

It also urged President Lee to resume his trial. Representative Jang said, “The situation began when the judiciary stopped the president’s five trials,” adding, “The trial should be resumed even now. That’s the way to protect the independence of the judiciary and equality before the law,” he said.