Kwon Young-se, Choi Jae-hae on Impeachment Dismissal: "Harsh Blow to Opposition's Frequent Impeachments and a Historic Ruling"

Kwon Holds Press Conference After Constitutional Court's Impeachment Ruling
"Constitutional Court Protects Independence of Board of Audit and Inspection and Prosecution"
"Democratic Party's Serial Impeachment Attempts Are Reckless and Unreasonable"
"We Will Accept the Outcome of President Yoon's Impeachment Trial"
"Law and Principles Must Be Equally Applied to President Yoon's Trial"

On the 13th, Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, welcomed the Constitutional Court's decision to dismiss the impeachment cases against Choi Jae-ha, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, Lee Chang-soo, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and two other prosecutors, calling it a "historic ruling that dealt a legal blow to the Democratic Party's political impeachment abuse."

At a press conference held at the National Assembly that morning, Chairman Kwon stated, "Today, the rule of law in the Republic of Korea has been upheld once again. This is a significant decision demonstrating that the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Korea are alive."

Earlier, the Constitutional Court held a ruling session at 10 a.m. on the impeachment trial of Chairman Choi and unanimously dismissed the impeachment motion. The Democratic Party had passed the impeachment motion against Chairman Choi on December 5 last year, citing reasons such as inadequate audits related to the relocation of the presidential office and residence, and targeted audits against former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee. However, the Constitutional Court stated that it was difficult to definitively conclude that these were inadequate or targeted audits.

Regarding the impeachment motions against Chief Prosecutor Lee, who led the investigation into the non-prosecution of allegations of stock price manipulation involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee and Deutsche Motors, as well as Deputy Chief Prosecutor Cho Sang-won of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and Chief of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 Choi Jae-hoon, the Constitutional Court also unanimously dismissed the motions that day.

Chairman Kwon criticized the Democratic Party's impeachment attempts as "reckless and unreasonable attempts pushed through based on the interests of the parliamentary majority power, not on the Constitution and laws," adding, "However, the Constitutional Court firmly dismissed these attempts, protecting the independence of the Board of Audit and Inspection and the prosecution. Our party respects the Court's decision. We were also able to reaffirm the principle that politics must not overstep the bounds of the law."

He further stated, "Although impeachment is a procedure granted by the people and guaranteed by the Constitution, it must never be abused for political interests," and pointed out, "If the Board Chairman and the three prosecutors were impeached simply because they were disliked by the opposition, it would have caused great shrinkage in the public service and endangered the national system."

Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference on current issues at the National Assembly on March 13, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

He also made it clear that he would accept the Constitutional Court's ruling on President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial. Chairman Kwon said, "Our People Power Party, as a conservative party that upholds the rule of law in the Republic of Korea, will realize responsible politics that prioritize the lives of the people," emphasizing, "I have already stated several times that I will accept the Constitutional Court's decision. The President has also clearly stated through his legal representatives that he will accept the outcome."

Addressing the Democratic Party, he urged, "Once again today, I call on the Democratic Party to clearly promise the people that they will accept whatever result comes from the Constitutional Court in order to uphold the constitutional order."

He requested the Constitutional Court to promptly conclude the impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo with fairness, independence, and adherence to law and principles.

Chairman Kwon pointed out, "Prime Minister Han is a figure recognized for his expertise in diplomacy and economics, having served as the head of the trade negotiation office, Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs, and ambassador to the United States in previous administrations," adding, "However, the prolonged acting presidency has caused many difficulties in normal diplomacy and economic cooperation."

Regarding President Yoon's impeachment trial, he said, "I hope that the strict standards of law and principles demonstrated in the dismissal of the impeachment of the Board Chairman and the three prosecutors will be equally applied in the President's trial," stressing, "If there are any legal flaws in the decision, it will inevitably worsen national confusion and negatively affect national unity."

When asked by a reporter whether the party leadership shared the same stance as the 80 People Power Party lawmakers who submitted a petition the previous day requesting the dismissal of President Yoon's impeachment, Chairman Kwon replied, "There is no significant difference in opinion between the party leadership and the lawmakers, but I believe individual lawmakers naturally have the right to judge according to their own will and values."

When a reporter mentioned that the Democratic Party claimed that the pre-martial law impeachments were only one case involving Lee Jin-sook, Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, and thus the claim of serial impeachments does not match the facts, he responded, "They did 29 cases over three years. It makes no sense to divide and say there were none before or after a certain time and that it is not serial impeachment. Not only 29 times, but they also threatened to impeach the Prosecutor General and Cho Sang-mok, acting Deputy Prime Minister. I cannot understand what the Democratic Party is talking about."

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