The Constitutional Court Will First Examine the Legality of the 'Fast-Track Sabotage'

Constitutional Court to Hold Public Hearing on 13th
O Shin-hwan's Authority Dispute Trial
Impact on Trials of 28 Prosecuted Lawmakers

Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok of the Constitutional Court and the justices are waiting for the start of the constitutional review ruling on the unconstitutionality confirmation constitutional complaint regarding the "Announcement of the Korea-Japan Comfort Women Issue Agreement" held on the 27th at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Constitutional Court will examine the legality of the 'Saboeum Incident,' the trigger of the 'Fast-Track Clash' case in which 28 members of the National Assembly were indicted, before the court does.

The Constitutional Court decided to hold a public hearing at 2 p.m. on the 13th in the Grand Bench on the case of a dispute over authority filed by Oh Shin-hwan, then a member of the Bareunmirae Party (currently the New Conservative Party), against National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang. A dispute over authority is a system where, when there is a conflict between state agencies or local governments regarding the existence or scope of authority, the Constitutional Court is requested to interpret the constitution and adjudicate to determine right or wrong.

The Constitutional Court appears to have decided on this public hearing with the intention of reviewing the arguments of both sides, opinions of external experts, and public opinion, as this case has attracted great interest from the public and may influence related trials in the future.

On April 25 last year, while Oh was a member of the Special Committee on Judicial Reform (Saege Special Committee) of the Bareunmirae Party, he lost his position as a committee member by Speaker Moon, who acted upon a request from Kim Kwan-young, then leader of the Bareunmirae Party. Instead, Speaker Moon replaced him with Chae Yi-bae, a member of the Bareunmirae Party. Oh filed a dispute over authority with the Constitutional Court, claiming that Speaker Moon's actions infringed on his rights to review and vote on legislation.

Speaker Moon argued that replacing Oh, who expressed views contrary to the party's stance, with Chae was inevitable to fulfill the agreement among the four ruling and opposition parties, and that it did not violate the Constitution or the National Assembly Act, nor infringe on Oh's rights to review and vote on legislation. The Constitutional Court will refer to the contents of the public hearing held that day and make a final judgment through subsequent deliberations. The court's decision is expected to affect the trials of the National Assembly members indicted in the 'Fast-Track Clash' case.

Meanwhile, on the same day at 4 p.m., the Constitutional Court will also hold a public hearing on a dispute over authority filed by Kwon Eun-hee, a member of the Bareunmirae Party, against Jeon Hye-sook, chairperson of the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee (Haeng-an Committee). Kwon, chairperson of the Subcommittee on the Jecheon Fire Evaluation, filed the dispute claiming that Jeon deliberately omitted the 'list of reporters and attendees' and only sent the 'Jecheon Fire-related Work Report Plan' when sending the 'Request for Submission of Reports and Documents Related to the Jecheon Fire,' decided by the subcommittee on July 4 last year, to the relevant institutions, Chungcheongbuk-do and Jecheon City. Kwon argues that Jeon's actions infringed on her authority as chairperson of the subcommittee.