Joo Ho-young: "Since the form is correct, no Constitutional Court is needed as 'Geomsu Wanbak' is not unconstitutional"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 23rd, the People Power Party strongly opposed the Constitutional Court's decision, which acknowledged the infringement of the People Power Party lawmakers' rights to deliberate and vote during the so-called 'Prosecutorial Reform' legislative process, while still recognizing the passage of the bill itself. Earlier, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the authority dispute petition filed by Representative Yoo and fellow party member Jeon Ju-hye against the Chairperson of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee by a 5 to 4 vote.

Joo Ho-young, the floor leader, held a press conference that day and rebutted the Constitutional Court's dismissal logic, saying, "I think such constitutional justices are unnecessary."

Floor leader Joo said, "The Constitutional Court, which rules that there was no violation of the Constitution or the National Assembly Act and therefore no infringement of the rights to deliberate and vote, and thus is not unconstitutional simply because it is formally correct, is unnecessary." He added, "Especially since the petitioners filed a provisional injunction to prohibit the resolution at the plenary session after the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's approval, if the Constitutional Court had made a timely provisional injunction decision, the contentious bill would not have been passed at the plenary session. In this regard, the Constitutional Court has even neglected its duties."

Floor leader Joo also claimed that the constitutional justices appointed under the Moon Jae-in administration and Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo have lost political neutrality.

He criticized, "The previous administration revealed the malpractice of building a fortress by appointing people who either did not meet the public's standards or belonged to their own camp to make the Constitutional Court their ally."

He continued, "The Democratic Party nominated judges unrelated to themselves as constitutional justices, and Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo nominated someone he had never met as a constitutional justice, excluding those from the judiciary, resulting in a so-called 'swap' of constitutional justices, which partly succeeded."

Voices of ruling party lawmakers opposing the Constitutional Court's decision were heard one after another that day.

Representative Kim Ki-hyun said, "It seems like the Supreme Court ruling on Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, who lied but was not found guilty of spreading false information, has been directly transferred. It feels more like a political tribunal than a Constitutional Court."

Kim Mi-ae, the floor spokesperson, said in a briefing, "The decision reminds me of saying 'I drank alcohol, but it was not drunk driving,'" and Jang Dong-hyuk, another floor spokesperson, echoed, "To put today's decision in one phrase, it's like saying 'The person killed someone, but it is not murder.'"