"Responsibility for State Affairs Manipulation Lies with Opposition Lawmakers"
"Common Sense Citizens Must Stay Awake"
"Will Help to the Best of Ability with Responsibility"
Amid the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol in the National Assembly on the 14th, lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, who served as the Secretary General of the Democratic Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, argued that "President Yoon's actions cannot constitute the crime of rebellion."
On the 15th, Lawyer Seok posted on his social media account, "Once again, the National Assembly has impeached the president, leading to the opening of an impeachment court," and stated, "The court is a battle to uphold the rule of law in the country. It is not the sham 'democracy' conspired by politicians, but the 'rule of law' that is fair to any ordinary citizen that will win this battle and restore the constitutional spirit and rule of law." He continued, "Impeachment is a system outlined in the constitution, but even so, it should be used cautiously. However, our National Assembly, which is no different from the opposition party's general meeting, shows no such discernment," and questioned, "The fixed-term president elected by direct vote of 50 million people is the highest representative of the people. How impeccable are the fewer than 200 opposition lawmakers, most of whom were elected solely through party nominations?"
He went on to say, "The authority to judge a national emergency situation that constitutes the premise for martial law lies with the president. Although the declaration of martial law was undoubtedly shocking to everyone, there is an abundance of reasons and legal principles why such an act cannot be considered the crime of rebellion under criminal law," and argued, "On the contrary, common sense dictates that the actual state of disruption of the national constitution stipulated as a requirement for the crime of rebellion and the responsibility for resulting state mismanagement lie with the opposition lawmakers." He added, "Through this impeachment trial, the opposition's relentless attempts to remove the fixed-term president must be dismissed to prevent such undemocratic and irrational political violence from recurring," and emphasized, "For that to happen, the common-sense citizens must be the first and always remain vigilant, rather than the politicians who have taken control of the National Assembly."
Additionally, Lawyer Seok stated, "Although the impeachment trial was an unfortunate measure akin to a drastic remedy, the National Assembly, which was supposed to oversee the martial law that ended within two or three hours according to constitutional procedures, is recklessly accusing it of rebellion. It starts with serious procedural flaws, lacking the investigation and hearing procedures stipulated in the National Assembly Act and any fact-based evidence confirmed judicially," and declared, "I will do my best to assist with a sense of responsibility for supporting the creation of this administration. Helping is not only about entering as a defense attorney in investigative agencies or courts."
He further said, "This struggle is not only a legal battle but also requires the public to understand the situation correctly and support it to win. I believe it is important to cooperate with defense attorneys to inform the public about the unjust accusation of rebellion and impeachment by the forces disrupting the national constitution, and to prevent investigators and judges from being swayed by political agitation and the anger of some distorted citizens," and remarked, "Eight years ago, President Park Geun-hye was impeached and removed by the Constitutional Court not because the legal grounds were fully met. The public sentiment was deceived by incidents such as the Sewol ferry disaster, rescue failures, later revealed false affairs and information like Viagra, and trivial matters like clothing payment scenes that no president could have prevented." Finally, he said, "Many believe that the anger of the misled public confused the judges at that time," and stressed, "Such a thing must not happen this time. The public must stay alert so that the judges do not become confused or intimidated."
Meanwhile, it is known that Lawyer Seok is a classmate of President Yoon at Seoul National University College of Law and has maintained a close friendship for about 40 years.
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