Yoon Impeachment 'Treason' Retraction Controversy... Ruling Party: "Lee Trial Trick" Opposition: "Constitutional Court Properly Organized Agenda"

Political Clash Over 'Withdrawal of Treason Charges'
Even Pro-Impeachment Ahn Cheol-soo and Yoo Seung-min Oppose
Lee So-young: "If the Court Judges, It's Treason; If the Constitutional Court Does, It's Grounds for Dismissal"

The political sphere is engaged in a debate over the withdrawal of the charge of 'treason' in the impeachment grounds against President Yoon Suk-yeol. Even ruling party figures who supported the impeachment have voiced opposition.

On the 6th, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in a fierce debate over the omission of the treason charge in President Yoon's impeachment. According to legal circles, on the 3rd, during the second preparatory hearing, the impeachment team withdrew parts of the impeachment bill related to criminal offenses under the Criminal Act, including treason concerning the '12·3 illegal martial law,' abuse of authority, and obstruction of special official duties.

Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, after visiting the Constitutional Court that morning and meeting with reporters, said regarding the withdrawal of treason charges, "Since there has been a significant change in circumstances related to the impeachment, the impeachment cannot be established," adding, "The Constitutional Court should dismiss this part, and I conveyed the opinion that the impeachment document cannot be amended." Kwon, who has been criticized for 'changing his stance' by excluding bribery charges during the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, said, "Bribery charges were excluded because they are peripheral and minor," and emphasized, "Treason is a crucial part of the current presidential impeachment, so the impeachment team cannot withdraw it at will," adding, "This requires a re-deliberation by the National Assembly."

The Constitutional Court has become an '8-member body' following the appointments of Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok and Constitutional Court Justice Cho Han-chang. On the 2nd, the inauguration ceremony for the new justice is scheduled to take place at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

What draws attention is that even within the People Power Party, which had publicly expressed support for the impeachment, the withdrawal of the 'treason' charge is being questioned.

Ahn Cheol-soo, a People Power Party lawmaker who had expressed support for President Yoon's impeachment, claimed that Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, hastened the removal of the treason charge to expedite the presidential election due to his urgent trial schedule. At a press conference that day, Ahn said, "This is purely a scheme to bring forward the presidential impeachment trial even a day earlier than Lee Jae-myung's trial," adding, "The Constitutional Court's impeachment trial judges constitutional violations, not treason. Therefore, it is absolutely right to submit the impeachment bill passed by the National Assembly as originally drafted and let the Constitutional Court decide." At a meeting with reporters, Ahn also said that "a re-deliberation is necessary" if the treason charge is withdrawn. However, he added, "The Constitutional Court may exclude it, considering it a criminal law matter rather than a constitutional one," and said, "What the impeachment team tried to change is a matter that could be resolved in one trial, but I see this as a plot to buy time so that the impeachment trial of President Yoon comes out faster than the trial related to Lee Jae-myung by even a single day."

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min also stated on social media the previous day, "The essence of the reason for impeaching the president was treason," and asked, "If the Constitutional Court decides on impeachment without treason, will the public accept the court's decision?" Yoo added, "If the Constitutional Court judges the impeachment excluding the treason charge, regardless of whether the decision is dismissal or acceptance, the country will enter a lawless 'civil war' after the court's decision," emphasizing, "The treason charge must naturally be included in the impeachment trial."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party explained that the removal of 'treason' and other unnecessary expressions was simply a clarification. Lee So-yeon, the Democratic Party's secretary for the investigation team on the treason facts, explained on social media, "There was no need to include unnecessary expressions like 'treason' in the original impeachment grounds, so the Constitutional Court simply organized the issues to fit the requirements for impeachment trials." Lee added, "The core reason for impeaching Yoon Suk-yeol is the actual act of declaring martial law to catch election fraud and sending the military to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission, which cannot be touched under martial law," explaining, "If these facts are judged in a criminal trial, it becomes 'treason,' but if judged in a constitutional trial, it becomes grounds for dismissal."

Targeting the People Power Party, which opposes excluding treason from the impeachment grounds, Lee said, "They know there are more than enough grounds for impeachment even without the treason charge, so they are stalling with a political intention of 'impeachment is already certain, but let's delay the presidential election,'" and stressed the need for a swift normalization of the political situation.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court denied claims from some political circles that it had recommended withdrawing the treason charge, stating, "There is no such fact." Regarding the withdrawal, the court also said, "There is no explicit provision on this matter," and "It is a matter for the trial panel to decide."