Joo Ho-young "Tomorrow's Vote on Chu Mi-ae Impeachment... Ruling Party Lawmakers Must Not Forget Independent Constitutional Institution"

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, is delivering a speech as the representative of the negotiating group at the National Assembly plenary session on the 21st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party, said on the 22nd, "Tomorrow, the impeachment motion against Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae will be voted on," urging ruling party lawmakers to "make their judgment recognizing that the Ministry of Justice is an independent constitutional institution before considering party affiliation."

On the same day, Floor Leader Joo said on BBS Radio's 'Park Kyung-soo's Morning Journal,' "The most important part of the National Assembly's existence is to check the executive branch."

Regarding the background of proposing the impeachment motion against Minister Choo, he explained, "The prosecution belongs to the executive branch but is an institution that requires independence. This principle is stipulated in the Prosecutors' Office Act, which states that the Minister of Justice only directs the Prosecutor General on specific cases and has exercised restraint as much as possible. However, (Minister Choo) has exercised illegal investigative authority against this and used expressions close to abusive language toward the Prosecutor General, damaging the dignity of the Minister of Justice."

Floor Leader Joo said, "Appointing a current lawmaker who was a representative of the ruling party as Minister of Justice, a position that requires neutrality, was itself an appointment of an unqualified person. The person who should protect the independence and neutrality of the prosecution is instead breaking it. This is the most important reason for impeachment."

He revealed that his description of the Moon Jae-in administration as a "morally bankrupt totalitarian regime" during the previous day's negotiation group representative speech was an evaluation by progressive scholar Professor Choi Jang-jip. Floor Leader Joo added, "Professor Choi evaluated this administration by saying 'their democracy is totalitarianism' and 'the moral bankruptcy of the progressive forces caused a crisis in democracy.' I was merely conveying that."

Regarding some opinions that it was unusual for a former judge to take a strong stance against the judiciary, he explained, "The essence of democracy is the existence of an independent and neutral judiciary. However, under this administration, many people appointed to the Supreme Court or Constitutional Court were clearly biased from the time of their appointment, and the rulings have mostly come out as expected. I want the public to understand the seriousness of this."

Floor Leader Joo said about Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo, "The administration's intention was evident from the time of his nomination. There has never been a Chief Justice who did not go through the Supreme Court, and among various court presidents, someone in their 60s became Chief Justice. Looking at the process of appointing key judicial positions after his appointment, it was a process that broke the judiciary's neutrality."

Regarding the Supreme Court's recent ruling on Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, he criticized, "Those who were considered non-neutral from the start because they were members of the Our Law Research Association, the International Human Rights Law Research Association, or the Minbyun (Lawyers for a Democratic Society) without exception participated in that (acquittal) conclusion. The conclusion itself, which created the sophistry that one cannot be punished unless there is an active lie, is problematic."

Regarding the expected replacement of the Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs next week, he said, "I hope it will be someone with a commitment to cooperation," adding, "I hope it will be someone who has fully experienced the opposition party's position and thoroughly understands that pushing through with one's own power is less effective and has more side effects than cooperation and discussion."

On the controversy over candidate nominations within the ruling party for the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections next spring, he argued, "According to the promise made to the public, if a by-election occurs due to the responsibility of a local government head from their own party, they should not field a candidate, so they should do so."

Floor Leader Joo said, "However, since there are so many voters and symbolic significance, considering gains and losses, not fielding a candidate would be a great courage and not an easy task. I understand that even within the Democratic Party, there is a split between the promise to the public and practical interests, and I expect they will respond with another trick."

He predicted, "They will avoid it by using tricks such as not fielding their own candidate but having a proportional representation party field a candidate, having someone friendly to them run and then supporting them, or borrowing the method of a party-wide vote saying that since all party members said to field a candidate, they must do so."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.