Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash at Prosecutor Impeachment and Broadcast Control Hearing

Legislation Committee Holds Hearing on Prosecutor Kim Young-chul's Absence
Science and ICT Committee Debates Legitimacy of Public Broadcasters' Board Members

On the 14th, opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Korea intensified their offensive through hearings of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Korea Communications Commission, which function as 'double-edged swords' to check the administration. The Legislation and Judiciary Committee hearing proceeded without witnesses as the impeachment subjects were absent, while in the Korea Communications Commission hearing, witnesses appeared but the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the impeachment issue of Chairperson Lee Jin-sook.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a hearing to investigate the grounds for the impeachment of Kim Young-chul, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office. However, many of the so-called key witnesses for the hearing submitted absence letters. Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok and Prosecutor Kim had submitted absence letters to the National Assembly on the 9th. Among more than 20 witnesses and reference persons citing various reasons such as health or business trips, the only actual attendee was the chief prosecutor of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office.

Earlier, the Democratic Party had proposed an impeachment motion against Prosecutor Kim on suspicions that he coached Jang Si-ho, niece of Choi Soon-sil, to give false testimony during the state manipulation scandal, and that he conducted a lenient investigation related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee's Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case. From the beginning of the hearing, controversy arose over whether the sole witness, Prosecutor Lim, was qualified to testify. Additionally, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Seong-yoon, attending as a hearing committee member, argued that he should be disqualified because he served as the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office during the 'lenient investigation' cited as grounds for impeachment. Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min also pointed out that "this is an opportunity to provide an explanation through an investigation procedure for disciplinary action" regarding Prosecutor Kim's absence.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the absence of most witnesses including Prosecutor Kim, Jeong Cheong-rae, chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the Democratic Party, listed relevant legal provisions and stated, "We will take legal action against the absent witnesses." Besides the hearing for Prosecutor Kim, opposition members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee are also pushing for impeachment hearings for prosecutors Kang Baek-shin, Park Sang-yong, and Eom Hee-jun. Subsequent hearings are expected to follow a similar pattern to Prosecutor Kim's hearing.

The ruling and opposition parties also clashed over the appointment of the board members of public broadcasters by the Korea Communications Commission. The opposition questioned whether the appointment procedure carried out by the two-person system of Chairperson Lee and another commissioner was lawful, while the ruling party rebutted that it was not illegal.

Kim Tae-gyu, Vice Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, attended the hearing of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee. Lee Jin-sook, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, who is suspended from duty due to impeachment, is treated as a regular witness and is scheduled to appear in the afternoon.

The opposition considers the appointment of 13 public broadcasting board members under the two-person system of Chairperson Lee and Vice Chairperson Kim to be illegal. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Jeong-heon said, "Today is a day to uncover and hold accountable the hasty replacement of the board members of the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Foundation (MBC and KBS's major shareholder) just 10 hours after the two started work," adding, "The Korea Communications Commission under Kim Hong-il and Lee Sang-in created loopholes in the verification process, and the commission under Lee Jin-sook and Kim Tae-gyu passed unqualified candidates through those loopholes." On the other hand, the ruling party maintains that the appointment of the board members by the Korea Communications Commission is not illegal. People Power Party lawmaker Shin Dong-wook said, "Using expressions like 'illegal' or 'broadcasting takeover' already presupposes that the appointment of the board members itself is illegal."