Moon Hyungbae: "Why Calculate Only Yoon's Case by Hours?... Anyone Would Suspect the Cancellation of Detention"

Moon Hyungbae Voices Opinion on Yoon's Release
"Anyone Would Inevitably Have Suspicions"
"The Judiciary Should Not Rely Solely on Independence"

Moon Hyungbae, former Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, directly criticized the court’s decision last March to cancel the detention of former President Yoon Suk-yeol in the insurrection case, saying, “How could that possibly be considered a cancellation of detention?” During his keynote speech at the 16th Asia Future Forum on the 23rd, Moon stated, “Up until now, the detention period has always been calculated by days, so why was it calculated by hours only in that case?” He added, “Anyone would inevitably have suspicions about this case.”

Moon Hyungbae, Former Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. Photo by Cho Yongjun

On this day, Moon emphasized, “To restore public trust in the courts, credible measures are necessary,” and continued, “It is not appropriate to insist solely on the independence of the judiciary when the public distrusts the trials.”

He further stated, “Insurrection-in old terms, treason. How can a treason trial be treated like an ordinary trial?” and argued, “Trials should be conducted swiftly, several times a week.” Regarding the idea of mandating live broadcasts of insurrection trials, he said, “A coup d’etat is not a secret. Only through credible measures can the public regain trust in the courts.” He continued, “When the public raises doubts about the judiciary, simply talking about ‘judicial independence’ is not the answer. Trust must be met with trust. Discussing independence is a different context. The responsibility to dispel suspicion lies with the courts.”

He also remarked, “At the time, President Yoon failed in ‘politics’ and resorted to ‘law.’ Therefore, the first thing the new government, established after impeachment, should bring forward is not ‘law’ but ‘politics.’ Politicians should engage in politics, and legal professionals should handle matters legally.”

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the first trial on charges of obstruction of special official duties and abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 26th of last month. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Last March, the 25th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (presided over by Chief Judge Ji Guyoun) accepted former President Yoon’s request for cancellation of detention, in which he argued that his continued detention was unjust. The court determined that the prosecution filed charges after Yoon’s detention period had already expired. According to the Criminal Procedure Act, the period during which investigation documents are held by the court for a pre-detention suspect interrogation is not included in the detention period.

However, at that time, the court found it appropriate to calculate the period in actual hours rather than in days, as had been the norm. The current ruling party has criticized this as an “unprecedented decision,” and it has become a focal point for distrust in the court.