The Legislation and Judiciary Committee to Hold Prosecutor Impeachment Hearing on the 11th of Next Month
Ruling Party's Opposition Vote: "Impeachment Grounds Are at the Level of Media Reports"
A hearing on the impeachment motion against the prosecutors who investigated Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, regarding the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong cases will be held. While the ruling party opposed it, calling it a "public humiliation," the opposition maintained that the hearing must proceed due to illegal acts such as the disclosure of alleged facts about the accused.
Jeong Cheong-rae, Chairman of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, is striking the gavel at the 15th plenary session of the 418th National Assembly (regular session) held at the National Assembly on the 4th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Legislation Committee) held a plenary meeting on the 27th and, led by the opposition, adopted the investigation plan for the impeachment motion against Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kang Baek-shin of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch and Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun of the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office Bucheon Branch. The People Power Party opposed and cast dissenting votes, but the motion was passed with 11 votes in favor and 5 against out of 16 attendees. The impeachment hearing for Prosecutors Kang and Eom is scheduled for the 11th of next month.
Prosecutors Kang and Eom investigated the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong cases in which Lee was indicted. This is why the People Power Party defines this impeachment motion and hearing as an attempt to "humiliate prosecutors." Gwak Gyu-taek, a member of the People Power Party, said, "Isn't this impeachment motion because they dislike the prosecutors who investigated Lee?" He added, "Since the trial is ongoing, attempting impeachment against the prosecutors involved in the investigation raises serious concerns about interfering with the trial." He further criticized, "Because the trial against Lee is ongoing, it is reasonable to postpone impeachment procedures until the trial concludes. This impeachment investigation is intended to humiliate the prosecutors and divert attention from the trial." Yoo Sang-beom, the People Power Party's ranking member on the Legislation Committee, also opposed the impeachment, saying its basis was no more than media reports.
On the other hand, the opposition argued that the prosecutors were involved in serious crimes, making impeachment and hearings unavoidable. Kim Seung-won, the Democratic Party's ranking member on the Legislation Committee, said, "Prosecutor Kang is the epitome of media oppression," adding, "He illegally disclosed alleged facts about the accused in every investigation, making him a prosecutor with serious misconduct and violations of duty." He also pointed out, "Prosecutor Eom coached witnesses to commit perjury with the intent to harm former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook and actually had them lie in court," calling him "a prosecutor who boldly conducted fabricated investigations to the extent of creating the popular phrase 'Saminseongho'." 'Saminseongho' is a four-character idiom meaning that if several people keep lying, the lie becomes believed.
Jeong Cheong-rae, chair of the Legislation Committee, sided with the opposition. He said, "The ruling party claims there is no basis for impeachment other than media reports, but is there really no evidence at all?" He added, "They say there was no disclosure of alleged facts, so does that mean the media wrote fiction? Then the prosecution should request a correction. If the prosecution did not leak such information, why are such articles appearing?" When the ruling party suggested that Lee's lawyer might have leaked the information, Chair Jeong responded, "Don't say such nonsense," and proceeded with the vote.
Meanwhile, the prosecution is opposing the impeachment of prosecutors pushed by the Democratic Party and has even taken collective action. Thirty-three chief prosecutors of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office posted a statement titled "Position of Chief Prosecutors of Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Regarding the Impeachment Motion Policy Against the Head of Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, etc." on the internal prosecution network, E-Pros, on the same day. They stated, "Impeachment should only be exceptionally carried out when a high-ranking public official commits a serious constitutional or legal violation in the course of duty, which is the fundamental spirit and value of the Constitution," and added, "The Democratic Party's impeachment attempt is an unconstitutional and illegal attempt that undermines the fundamental values of the Constitution and erodes the rule of law."
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