Prosecutors Roar Against 'Goye Impeachment Rampage': "A Vicious Precedent Undermining the Judicial System"

The backlash against the 'Impeachment of Prosecutors Investigating Lee Jae-myung' is intensifying. Immediately after the Democratic Party of Korea proposed the impeachment motion, a flood of denunciations from prosecutors nationwide, led by Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok, poured in.

(Photo by Yonhap News)

A Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office official told reporters on the 4th, "Pushing for impeachment just because a specific person was investigated is an abuse of legislative power that violates the fundamental principle of separation of powers under the Constitution and laws," adding, "It also contradicts the principle that 'everyone is equal before the law' and is a very bad precedent that shakes the foundation of the criminal justice system."

The impeachment motion, jointly proposed by all 170 Democratic Party lawmakers, targets four prosecutors: Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin of the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-cheol of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Sang-yong of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, and Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun of the Bucheon branch. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kang and Chief Prosecutor Eom were in charge of investigating former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung's Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong allegations while working at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office last year. Prosecutor Park handled an illegal remittance to North Korea case at the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office. Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim was cited as a reason for impeachment due to allegations of backdoor dealings with Jang Si-ho, niece of Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil), and for a 'lenient investigation of Mrs. Kim Geon-hee.'

In the legal community, the consensus is that the grounds for impeachment against these four prosecutors are weak, making the likelihood of actual impeachment acceptance very low. Nevertheless, the Democratic Party's forceful push for impeachment is seen as retaliatory for investigations related to former leader Lee, with expectations that they will summon the prosecutors to the National Assembly to attempt so-called 'public shaming.'

Regarding this, a Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office official expressed concern, saying, "Among the four prosecutors, some are involved in ongoing investigations," and added, "If they are summoned to the National Assembly, it could practically cause difficulties in conducting trials." Furthermore, the official said, "If prosecutors are attacked in the National Assembly just because they conducted investigations, it could intimidate them personally," and added, "Fear of impeachment might lead to biased thinking where some investigate and others do not."

On the 2nd, immediately after the impeachment motion was proposed, Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok, who voluntarily held a press conference strongly criticizing it as an 'impeachment to shield Lee Jae-myung,' also referred to the motion during the monthly meeting held at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office building that day, calling it an "illegal and unjust external pressure" and urged, "No matter how low and despicable the opponent acts, never yield."

Lee's statement posted on the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's internal network 'E-Pros' received nearly 300 comments from prosecutors. Ko Hyung-gon, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, who served as the 5th Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office until May last year and led investigations related to former Democratic Party leader Lee, wrote, "It is shocking and tragic that an impeachment motion is proposed against prosecutors just because they handled specific cases," adding, "If responsibility must be assigned, ask me, who practically supervised the investigations." It is also reported that Song Kyung-ho, former Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and currently Chief Prosecutor of the Busan High Prosecutors' Office, wrote, "Impeach me."

Not only active frontline prosecutors but also retired prosecutors have voiced their support. The 'Prosecutors' Alumni Association,' a group of retired prosecutors chaired by former Prosecutor General Han Sang-dae, who served during the Lee Myung-bak administration, issued a statement on the 2nd, saying, "Despite the clear lack of grounds for impeachment, forcibly pushing an impeachment motion against prosecutors handling Lee Jae-myung's cases and making it public is defamation and illegal conduct against prosecutors," and urged, "The courts should swiftly try the Lee Jae-myung case and faithfully perform their role as a check against legislative overreach in accordance with the constitutional principle of separation of powers."