The side of President Yoon Suk-yeol submitted a written opinion to the Constitutional Court stating that Justices Moon Hyung-bae, Lee Mi-seon, and Jung Kye-seon should recuse themselves from the impeachment trial proceedings.
On the 1st, President Yoon's side stated, "The authority of the court and the trust that the trial is fair are not gained by insisting there are no internal problems, but must be recognized externally," and announced that they submitted a request for recusal to the Constitutional Court.
President Yoon's side argued that Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae is politically biased, citing his past interactions with Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, through social networking services (SNS). They pointed out that Justice Lee Mi-seon’s younger sibling is the vice-chairman of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) Special Committee for Yoon Suk-yeol’s Resignation, and that her spouse works at the same law firm as former Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il, who is currently on trial for alleged judicial collusion with Lee Jae-myung and the Daejang-dong 5 billion Club scandal. Regarding Justice Jung Kye-seon, they raised concerns that her spouse, lawyer Hwang Pil-gyu, signed a declaration urging impeachment, and that the chairman of Gonggam, a public interest human rights law foundation to which Hwang belongs, is lawyer Kim Yi-su, co-leader of the National Assembly’s legal team.
Previously, the Constitutional Court dismissed the recusal request for Justice Jung Kye-seon filed by President Yoon’s side on similar grounds. Cheon Jae-hyun, the Constitutional Court’s spokesperson, said, "There have been cases where the political sphere and media uniformly judge the personal inclinations of justices and distort the essence of the impeachment trial," and added, "The Constitutional Court expresses concern about the possibility of infringement on the judiciary’s authority due to this."
President Yoon’s side also criticized the dispute over authority trial filed by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik against the acting president regarding the appointment of Justice Ma Eun-hyuk. In a separate statement released that day, President Yoon’s side said, "There was no resolution by the National Assembly to file a dispute over authority trial against the acting president," and added, "A clear procedural flaw has been found." The Constitutional Court will make a decision on the case on the 3rd.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
