Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae attends the '2025 Regular National Chief Judges Conference' at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 5th. Joint reporting

The media's response is drawing public attention after it was belatedly revealed that Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae has been booked as a suspect by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) on charges of aiding and abetting rebellion.

Some are pointing out that even left-leaning media and politicians have not mentioned the case for about a week since he was booked, and that left-leaning YouTube channels, which usually report on trivial matters, have also remained silent, leading to opinions that "it doesn't seem like a big deal."

Others argue that the unprecedented event of a sitting Supreme Court Chief Justice being booked must have other reasons behind the media's silence.

In fact, not all left-leaning politicians are silent. Voices calling for public discussion of this issue, from both politicians and the media, are emerging from the left.

Kim Byung-joo, a member of the National Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea), wrote on Facebook, "The investigation into Cho Hee-dae, which I repeatedly urged the special committee on rebellion to conduct, has opened. However, the media remains silent. The media is silent even though the Supreme Court Chief Justice is a target of a rebellion investigation. The media's coordinated collective sabotage is not a coincidence; it's closer to a shield."

A left-leaning online media outlet reported on the 8th that the CIO recently assigned the case, in which civic groups and others filed a complaint against Chief Justice Cho, to the 4th investigation division, indicating that Chief Justice Cho has become a "suspect" or entered the preliminary investigation (internal investigation) stage.

The media outlet further reported, "Despite such a serious matter, there are strong public criticisms about the noticeable lack of reporting from major media outlets, amplifying suspicions about the background."

Last weekend, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, passed bills to establish a dedicated court for rebellion cases and to introduce a new crime of distorting law. Chief Justice Cho had previously expressed his concern, stating, "If the judicial system is reformed in the wrong direction, it could cause irreparable damage to the public."

With the high probability that Chief Justice Cho's booking is due to left-wing politicians and their supporters advocating for judicial reform, it remains unclear whether the conspicuously low media coverage is due to the "reporting control" of the Lee Jae-myung administration, aiming to avoid provoking the judiciary, or whether the media is independently exercising caution to survive in an unpredictable and precarious situation.

Attention is focused on whether the situation of the Supreme Court Chief Justice becoming a suspect will lead to his resignation under pressure, or whether the investigation into the Chief Justice will also be dismissed as unfounded, similar to President Yoon Suk-yeol's rebellion charges being found not guilty.

NNP=Hong Seong-gu, Chief Editor, USA / Special Contribution NNP info@newsandpost.com