Demand for Impeachment of Judge Kang Reaches Over 330,000 Signatures in One Day on Blue House Petition
Impeachment Petition Also Posted on National Assembly Petition Board
Women Criticize, "The Judiciary Is Also an Accomplice"
Son Jung-woo, the operator of the world's largest child sexual exploitation site "Welcome to Video," was released on the afternoon of the 6th after the court's decision not to extradite him to the United States, leaving Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern Yeonju Kim] Voices calling for the impeachment of Kang Yong-su, the senior presiding judge of the Seoul High Court who decided to reject the extradition of Son Jung-woo (24), the operator of the world's largest child sexual exploitation site 'Welcome to Video,' are growing louder.
The petition demanding the disqualification of Judge Kang, who is a candidate for Supreme Court Justice, surpassed 330,000 signatures within a day. This is not the first time calls for judicial impeachment have arisen due to lenient punishments for sex offenders.
Last March, a petition also called for the disqualification of Judge Oh Deok-sik, who had sentenced Choi Jong-beom, the late Goo Hara's ex-boyfriend who threatened her, to probation in the first trial.
Given this situation, there is growing interest in whether this could actually lead to the impeachment of a judge. Impeachment is a system where the legislature can indict and remove high-ranking officials such as the president who commit misconduct, which is difficult to discipline through ordinary judicial or disciplinary procedures.
Under current law, impeachment is the only way to remove a judge from office. Impeachment requires the proposal of at least one-third of the total members of the National Assembly and must be approved by a majority of the total members. Once the impeachment proposal is approved, the National Assembly requests the Constitutional Court to conduct an impeachment trial, and if six or more of the nine Constitutional Court justices agree, the impeachment is confirmed.
However, there has never been a case in constitutional history where a judge was actually impeached. In 1985, an impeachment proposal was filed against the late Chief Justice Yoo Tae-heung for unfair personnel measures against judges, but it was rejected by the National Assembly.
Also, in 2009, an impeachment proposal was filed against Supreme Court Justice Shin Young-chul amid controversy over interference in the 'Mad Cow Disease Candlelight Protest' trials, but it was discarded according to the National Assembly Act, which stipulates automatic dismissal if not voted on within 72 hours after being reported to the plenary session.
On the afternoon of the 7th, a protest condemning Sohn Jung-woo, who was denied extradition to the United States, was held at the east gate of the Seoul Central District Court. On that day, women raised their voices, saying the court was also an accomplice. Photo by Seulgi Kim, intern reporter sabiduriakim@asiae.co.kr
Meanwhile, women are criticizing the judiciary as "an accomplice."
The eNd (N번방 Sexual Exploitation Strong Punishment Protest Team) held a press conference on the afternoon of the 7th at the east gate of the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, stating, "The court refused Son Jung-woo's extradition and said, 'We hope the criminal will actively cooperate with the upcoming investigation and receive just punishment,' but this is arrogance and delusion on the part of the court," raising their voices, "If the Korean judiciary were a place capable of delivering just punishment, would Son Jung-woo have wanted to be punished in Korea?"
The Telegram Sexual Exploitation Countermeasure Committee pointed out in a statement, "(The decision to refuse Son Jung-woo's extradition) is naturally seen as a judicial sophistry to avoid the dishonor of 'the U.S. judiciary punishing what the Korean judiciary cannot.'"
On the other hand, on the 7th, the 20th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Kang Young-su, Jung Moon-kyung, and Lee Jae-chan) refused the extradition of Son Jung-woo. Accordingly, Son was released in the afternoon from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do.
Son was indicted on charges of operating W2V on the dark web, where computer address tracking is difficult, from July 2015 to March 2018 for about 2 years and 8 months, posting child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials and earning about 400 million won worth of Bitcoin.
It is known that the illegal sexual exploitation materials distributed by Son included videos involving a newborn baby just six months old. He was scheduled to be released on April 27 after serving his full sentence on these charges.
However, the U.S. Department of Justice requested his compulsory extradition under the extradition treaty, delaying his release. He was immediately released following the Seoul High Court's decision to refuse extradition.
The court stated that since investigations related to child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials are still ongoing domestically, it is possible to prevent recurrence of crimes by having him investigated in Korea.
The court explained, "To eradicate child and adolescent pornography crimes, thorough investigations to root out consumers of pornography and members of the 'Welcome to Video' site are necessary. Among those who downloaded pornography from 'Welcome to Video,' only a very small number have been identified through international cooperative investigations. If Son is extradited to the U.S., it is difficult to exclude the possibility that Korea will fail to secure the identities of users and that investigations will be hindered."
However, the court added, "Son and his lawyer have stated that even if he receives a heavy sentence domestically, he will accept his punishment willingly. This decision does not grant Son immunity, and he is expected to cooperate with future investigations and trials and receive just punishment."
Meanwhile, the petition calling for the impeachment of the court that was posted on the 6th had 407,660 signatures as of 11 a.m. on the day. The petitioner pointed out, "Is this truly a correct judgment? If the person who made such a judgment becomes a Supreme Court Justice, just imagining what kind of country will be created is frightening."
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