[Insight & Opinion] How Did It Come to This: Collapsed Rule of Law and Lost Decency

Standoff Over Presidential Arrest Warrant and Impeachment Turmoil
Yoon Bears the Greatest Responsibility and Must Cooperate with the Investigation
Lee Should Clarify Judicial Responsibility and Focus on Politics

The authority of the constitutional order has collapsed. The power holders of representative government are shaking the constitutional order, and the public trust in state institutions has been destroyed. It can be described as a state of anarchy. The already unstable crisis in Korean politics is exploding due to an anachronistic emergency martial law and the ensuing impeachment turmoil. State institutions are powerless, and the Democratic Party forces leading the impeachment situation are wielding the Procrustean bed.

The standoff over the execution of the presidential arrest warrant recalled civil wars in Africa where government forces and rebels face off. Of course, the president bears significant responsibility for worsening the situation even after having brought about the impeachment crisis. While one can point out the overreach of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) or issues with the arrest warrant, there is no solution beyond the final judgment of the court. The president, who exercised power based on elections and the rule of law, is effectively denying his own foundation. It is hoped that the president’s side’s proposal to comply with the warrant issued by the Central District Court will become the solution.

Of course, the process of executing the CIO’s warrant was sloppy, reminiscent of President Yoon’s failed emergency martial law. This is a consequence left by the Democratic Party administration’s institutional reforms, which hastened the establishment of the CIO and adjustment of investigative authority focusing on weakening prosecutorial power. There have been frequent refusals to execute warrants by physical resistance in the political arena. In October 2022, the Democratic Party’s headquarters search was thwarted by physical resistance from party members, and Representative Lee Jae-myung has employed various shield strategies, with all five trials proceeding without detention. Even so, in a situation where charges of treason are being raised, President Yoon should have responded responsibly.

Separate from disputes in impeachment or criminal trials, he must show a responsible attitude regarding the aftershocks caused by the emergency martial law he declared. The country has fallen from a model nation of industrialization and democratization to one of impeachment politics and national division. Minimizing these aftereffects is also his responsibility.

The Democratic Party’s impeachment politics and excessive treason framing strategy, which are leading the impeachment situation, are also exacerbating national instability. Impeachment politics, which emerged as a strategy to shield judicial risks and pressure the administration, have gained momentum after the failure of emergency martial law. Although President Yoon is reaping what he sowed, the acting president Han Duck-soo’s impeachment was enforced through legislative power, and impeachment has even been mentioned against his successor, acting president Choi Sang-mok, with accusations of dereliction of duty filed. Moreover, the administration is being pressured with an enormous treason frame that signifies the betrayal of the nation and disruption of the constitutional order. While the unconstitutionality of the emergency martial law, which attempted to neutralize the National Assembly, seems relatively clear, whether treason charges apply remains debatable, as the president’s side argues.

From the Democratic Party’s perspective, which pursues a strategy to overcome judicial risks through political power struggles, the impeachment situation is an opportunity. Previously, critics of Representative Lee Jae-myung’s leadership were called “watermelons,” but now forces that do not follow the Democratic Party’s claims are attacked as treason collaborators. Besides those under investigation for involvement in the emergency martial law process, several key figures in the presidential office and administration have been accused of treason collaboration. The accused deny the allegations and have countersued for false accusations. The treason framing, which contains an intention to evade judicial responsibility, may be fueling President Yoon’s delusions. It is a self-serving, tit-for-tat power struggle. In the impeachment situation, it is only intensifying like a war.

The representative power for the nation and people has been distorted into a tool for political forces’ power. Politics that seeks to evade judicial responsibility through power struggles cannot be expected to bring a future to Korean politics. Can we not expect a politics of decency and common sense, where President Yoon takes responsibility for the national turmoil by cooperating with the treason investigation, and Representative Lee clarifies judicial responsibility and engages in politics?

Kim Man-heum, Former Director of the National Assembly Research Service