Constitutional Court Unanimously 'Dismisses' Impeachment of Board of Audit and Inspection Chief and Prosecutor... 98 Days After Indictment

All Return to Duties Immediately
"Difficult to Conclude the Board of Audit and Inspection Chief Abandoned Neutrality"
"Hard to Determine Abuse of Discretion by Prosecutors in Kim Geon-hee Investigation"
Number of Public Officials Reinstated After Impeachment Rises to Eight Under Current Administration

On the 13th, the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed the impeachment cases against Choi Jae-hae, the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection, Lee Chang-soo, the chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and two other prosecutors, ruling that the grounds for impeachment presented by the National Assembly could not be considered violations of the Constitution or laws. This conclusion came 98 days after the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against Choi and Lee. Following the dismissal of the impeachment, Choi, Lee, and the others immediately returned to their duties.

Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae of the Constitutional Court and the justices attended the case concerning the dispute over the suspension of the appointment of nominee Ma Eun-hyuk at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 27th of last month. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

In the dismissal ruling for Choi, the Constitutional Court stated, "It is difficult to conclude that Choi’s actions or statements abandoned independence or neutrality and were politically biased," adding, "It is hard to see that he undermined public trust or violated the duty to maintain the dignity of public officials." Justices Lee Mi-seon, Jeong Jeong-mi, and Jeong Gye-seon, who issued separate opinions, noted, "Although Choi’s amendment of the directive to grant the Prime Minister the right to request public interest audits may be considered a violation of the Constitution and the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, it is not serious enough to warrant dismissal."

Regarding Lee Chang-soo, chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Cho Sang-won, the 4th deputy chief prosecutor of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, and Choi Jae-hoon, head of the Anti-Corruption Division 2, the Court stated, "Although there may be some room for misunderstanding, it is difficult to conclude that they abused their discretion by violating laws in investigating Kim Geon-hee at the Security Office building and in the decision not to prosecute."

Last December 5, the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against Choi, accusing him of conducting a sloppy audit of the presidential residence relocation case and targeting former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee, which was seen as a breach of the Board of Audit and Inspection’s duty of independence. It was alleged that Choi politically operated the Board in alignment with the ruling party and effectively used audit powers to eliminate political opponents. Choi appeared at the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial on the 12th of last month, which lasted only one day, and rebutted, stating, "The grounds for impeachment by the National Assembly are factually incorrect, one-sided, and distorted claims."

On the 13th, Choi Jae-hae, the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, who returned to duty following the Constitutional Court's decision to dismiss the impeachment, is arriving at the Board of Audit and Inspection in Jongno-gu, Seoul. It has been 98 days since the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion. The Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed the impeachment with all eight justices agreeing, stating, "There is no evidence that the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection violated the duty of neutrality as a public official or breached the independence of the Board." Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

The main reason for the impeachment of Lee Chang-soo and the other two prosecutors was their failure to properly investigate the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case involving Kim Geon-hee, wife of President Yoon, and their decision not to prosecute. They were impeached on the same day as Choi. The National Assembly also included as grounds for impeachment the fact that they gave misleading explanations during media briefings. Lee, at the impeachment trial held on the 24th of last month, had the misleading explanations included as grounds for impeachment. He appeared at the trial and stated, "Regarding the Kim Geon-hee case, as the chief prosecutor, I took full responsibility and thoroughly verified the evidence and legal grounds before making decisions."

Meanwhile, with the Constitutional Court’s dismissal of the impeachment on this day, the number of public officials in the current administration who were impeached but have since returned to their duties has risen to eight. Previously, the Court unanimously dismissed the impeachment of former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min in July 2023, ruling that it was difficult to consider it a violation of the Disaster and Safety Act. In May last year, the Court also dismissed the impeachment of prosecutor Ahn Dong-wan, who was impeached over the ‘Yu Woo-sung retaliatory prosecution controversy,’ by a 5-4 vote.

In August last year, the Court unanimously dismissed the impeachment of prosecutor Lee Jeong-seop, who investigated Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, stating that the impeachment was inappropriate and the grounds were not specific. Most recently, in January this year, the Court dismissed the impeachment of Lee Jin-sook, chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, by a 4-4 vote. So far, 13 major public officials in the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, including President Yoon himself, have been impeached by the National Assembly, and all eight who have received rulings as of the 13th have had their impeachments dismissed and returned to office. To date, the Constitutional Court rulings have aligned with the ruling party’s claim that these were "excessive or politically motivated impeachment motions."

The remaining impeachment cases involve President Yoon Seok-yeol, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae, Commissioner of the National Police Agency Cho Ji-ho, and Chief Prosecutor Son Jun-sung. Except for Chief Prosecutor Son, who was impeached over the ‘alleged report-for-prosecution scandal’ before the last presidential election, the others are all related to the emergency martial law declared on December 3 last year.

The focus is undoubtedly on whether President Yoon will be dismissed. Since concluding the trial on the 25th of last month, the Constitutional Court has been deliberating for 17 days, making it the longest deliberation period among presidential impeachment cases in history. Considering the usual practice of announcing the ruling date two to three days before the verdict, it is likely that the ruling on President Yoon will not be made this week. The case of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, whose trial concluded earlier than President Yoon’s, has also not seen a ruling for over three weeks, and the first hearing for Minister Park Sung-jae’s case is scheduled for the 18th.