Ruling Party to Abstain from Plenary Vote on Constitutional Court Justice Appointment
"Is the National Assembly Appointing Justices? It's Like Prosecutors Choosing Judges"
Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the People Power Party, criticized the Democratic Party of Korea for pushing to impeach Han Deok-su, Acting President and Prime Minister, saying, "In the history of the Republic of Korea's constitutional government, there has never been a single case where so many members of the National Assembly have committed such outrageous acts for a presidential candidate facing criminal charges."
Kwon Young-se, who was nominated as the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is having a conversation with floor leader Kwon Seong-dong at the party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 26th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
On the morning of the 26th, Acting Leader Kwon held a party meeting at the National Assembly and said, "Representative Lee Jae-myung is a four-time offender currently on trial in five courts for 12 charges across eight cases." He added, "The Democratic Party should immediately stop their operation to devastate the government," emphasizing, "You may be dreaming of an early presidential election, but your evil deeds will surely be judged by the people."
Acting Leader Kwon stated, "On the 14th, the Democratic Party held a party meeting and resolved to impeach Acting President Han, but today they changed their stance to decide whether to impeach or not. On the 15th, Representative Lee said there would be no impeachment of Acting President Han, but on the 24th, they threatened to impeach, only to change the party line again on the same day, saying they would observe whether to impeach."
He continued, "At a nationally critical time, they are wavering over the tremendous issue of the Acting President and staging an impeachment hostage drama," pointing out, "The Democratic Party is revealing its true colors, showing that as long as they can cover up Lee Jae-myung’s judicial risks, they do not care if they paralyze the government, devastate the administration, and sink the nation."
Acting Leader Kwon also reiterated that if the Democratic Party forcibly proceeds with the impeachment of Acting President Han, it requires the consent of two-thirds of the total members of the National Assembly. He said, "The Democratic Party is insisting that a simple majority is enough for impeachment, but this is an ignorant claim that forgets the basic intent of the Constitution."
He explained, "Unlike other Cabinet members, the reason the impeachment quorum for the President is two-thirds is because if the President, who oversees the government, is impeached by a simple majority, there is a risk of constant government confusion," adding, "Even the commentary on the Constitutional Court Act published by the Constitutional Court clearly states that the quorum for proposing and deciding on the impeachment of an Acting President is based on that of the official being acted for."
Acting Leader Kwon also viewed it as inappropriate for the National Assembly, which impeached President Yoon Seok-youl, to appoint Constitutional Court justices who will judge the impeachment trial. He argued, "It is like a prosecutor choosing the judge when the National Assembly, the impeacher, recommends the Constitutional Court justices who judge the impeachment," and "Moreover, recommending three out of nine justices, which is one-third of the entire court, greatly undermines the fairness of the impeachment trial."
The Constitutional Court consists of nine justices, but currently, there are only six. Under this situation, for President Yoon’s impeachment to be passed, a unanimous vote of all six justices is required. If all nine justices are appointed, the impeachment proposal will be dismissed if four justices oppose it.
If the National Assembly recommends three new Constitutional Court justices at today’s plenary session, the appointment process will be handed over to Acting President Han. After the party meeting, Acting Leader Kwon told reporters, "We still maintain the position that Acting President Han does not have the authority to appoint Constitutional Court justices," and added, "For that reason, we did not participate in the confirmation hearings for the justices and have decided not to participate in the voting for the justices."
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