Impeachment Trial of Justice Minister Park Seongjae Begins in Earnest
Park's Side Argues "Case Should Be Dismissed, Not Rejected"
On the 24th, Minister of Justice Park Seong-jae stated, "The National Assembly's abuse of the prosecution right is a major cause of President Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of martial law," while Park's side argued that there are no grounds for impeachment and requested the dismissal of the case. The National Assembly expressed suspicion about whether Minister Park even tried to dissuade the martial law and hoped for a swift trial, leading to a tense standoff.
The Constitutional Court held the first preparatory hearing for Minister Park's impeachment trial at 2 p.m. in a small panel session. Earlier, in December last year, the National Assembly passed a resolution to impeach Minister Park, citing his involvement in the president's charge of treason and violation of political neutrality of public officials by leaving the National Assembly plenary session prematurely. Minister Park has been suspended from duty for two months.
On this day, the National Assembly claimed that Minister Park attended the Cabinet meeting related to the December 3 martial law, participated in the decision-making, arranged detention facilities at the Seoul Eastern Detention Center in the early hours of December 4, and met with Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and others at a residence in Samcheong-dong to discuss follow-up measures after the treasonous acts, thereby violating the Constitution. The National Assembly stated, "Minister Park has not disclosed whether he was involved in prior collusion or what opinions he expressed," adding, "We are even suspicious whether Minister Park tried to dissuade the martial law."
In response, Minister Park's side refuted all the impeachment grounds presented by the National Assembly and argued that the impeachment trial itself should be dismissed. Kim Jae-hoon, Park's attorney, said, "The contents that were not mentioned at all at the time of the impeachment resolution are being supplemented after the impeachment," emphasizing, "It is no different from a prosecution indictment without any factual charges."
He continued, "In our country, the exercise of impeachment should be normative impeachment, not political impeachment," and pointed out, "Democratic Party lawmaker Jang Kyung-tae said that if the Minister of Justice had only apologized, he would not have been impeached, which is clear evidence admitting it was a political impeachment." He added, "The National Assembly's abuse of the right to impeach has already been widely criticized by the public, but the impeachment against the Minister of Justice is arguably the most severe abuse among them."
Attorney Kim said, "Especially regarding the charge of treason, there is no content explaining what exactly was done to conspire or sympathize," and added, "After 70 days with no action, suddenly submitting evidence requests just before the preparatory hearing?if this is not for the purpose of delaying the trial, then what is it?" The National Assembly countered, "There is no intention to delay the trial, and we want a swift trial."
The court on this day requested the National Assembly to submit specific grounds for impeachment, noting unclear parts in their claims. Justice Lee Mi-seon said, "Regarding the meeting at the president's residence, please clarify how the fact that the respondent went to the president's residence constitutes participation in martial law that had already been lifted and ended."
The Constitutional Court concluded the preparatory procedures for Minister Park's impeachment trial after about an hour of the hearing. The trial date will be notified after deliberation by the justices.
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