Choo Kyung-ho, a People Power Party lawmaker accused of obstructing the National Assembly’s vote to lift martial law during the December 3rd emergency declaration, appeared in court on the 2nd for a warrant review. Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-jae of the Seoul Central District Court began the substantive review of the bench warrant requested by the insurrection special counsel, who charged Choo with “engaging in critical tasks of the insurrection,” at 3 p.m. local time. The decision on whether to detain Choo is expected late tonight or early tomorrow.
Arriving at the Seoul Central District Court around 2:20 p.m., Choo, surrounded by People Power Party lawmakers, briefly stated, “I expect a fair judgment without political bias from the court,” before entering the courtroom. He did not respond to reporters’ questions, including, “How will you explain the repeated changes to the party meeting location?” “Did former President Yoon Suk-yeol really not request cooperation?” and “When did you learn about the martial law declaration?”
The insurrection special counsel team, including Assistant Special Counsel Park Eok-su and Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-soon, plans to argue for Choo’s detention using a 741-page opinion and a 304-slide PPT presentation during the review.
Choo, who served as the People Power Party’s floor leader on December 3rd of last year, is suspected of aiding the martial law declaration by obstructing the National Assembly’s vote to lift it after former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s emergency declaration. The special counsel alleges that Choo changed the party meeting location multiple times after receiving a call from Yoon around 11:22 p.m. on the day of the declaration, thereby hindering the vote. Choo, however, maintains that Yoon only apologized for not informing him in advance and did not request cooperation.
The special counsel also claims that Choo’s phone call to Han Dong-hoon, the People Power Party leader at the time, at dawn on December 4th—asking him to “come out”—was part of the insurrection. They argue that Choo tried to remove Han and pro-Han faction lawmakers from the assembly hall to block the vote. Choo denied this, stating, “I only discussed the party’s stance with Han and urged him to return to the assembly hall. I never encouraged or pressured anyone to abstain from the vote.”
Meanwhile, People Power Party leaders, including Jang Dong-hyeok and Floor Leader Song Eon-seog, held a protest outside the court where Choo’s warrant review took place. Jang criticized Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae, saying, “Jung openly threatened to shift blame to the judiciary if the warrant is rejected. We trust the court’s conscience and courage. The warrant will be dismissed, and the baseless insurrection narrative will end.”
The political landscape is expected to shift dramatically depending on whether Choo is detained, coinciding with the first anniversary of the December 3rd martial law. If Choo is detained, the Democratic Party is anticipated to intensify calls for a constitutional review to dissolve the People Power Party. Conversely, if the warrant is rejected, they may escalate attacks on the judiciary, including Chief Justice Jo Hee-de. On the 28th, the day after the National Assembly approved the arrest motion against Choo, Jung Chung-rae stated, “If Choo, a former key People Power Party official, is detained, the party will be branded as an insurrection party, and public demand for its dissolution will grow. If the warrant is rejected, the blame will fall on Chief Justice Jo Hee-de and the judiciary.”
