Cheon Dae-yeop, Chief of the Court Administration Office (Supreme Court Justice), appeared before the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and stated that the December 3 emergency martial law was an "unconstitutional exercise of military command authority."
On the 11th, Chief Cheon said during a current affairs inquiry at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, "We currently assess that this situation was an unconstitutional exercise of military command authority, and that the constitutional and timely exercise of the right to resist by the legislature, supported by citizens' will and efforts to uphold the constitution, led to the early restoration of constitutional order."
He added, "Even the judiciary will maintain its center firmly without any wavering according to the constitution, laws, and conscience, and I believe that it will handle any case fairly regardless of who the subject is or what the incident is. We will give our utmost support and assistance in this regard," emphasizing his point.
When Park Eun-jung, a lawmaker from the Party for National Innovation, asked, "Is it correct to describe the emergency martial law as unconstitutional and illegal?" Chief Cheon replied, "Yes, I described it as unconstitutional."
Additionally, Chief Cheon referred to past precedents regarding former Presidents Jeon Du-hwan and Roh Tae-woo's charges of military rebellion within the new military regime, stating, "I understand that when unconstitutional emergency martial law was mobilized, the court ruled that there was a possibility of viewing that part as a riot." However, when asked whether President Yoon Seok-yeol's emergency martial law could be viewed similarly, he responded, "It does not seem appropriate to comment on specific cases."
Furthermore, when Lee Geon-tae, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, asked, "Will President Yoon, like ordinary citizens, uphold the spirit of equality before the law and have the judge conduct the warrant review trial?" Chief Cheon said, "I believe that each judge, as an independent constitutional institution, will do their best to make judgments according to the constitution, laws, and conscience."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
