[Summary] Ruling Party "Pursuing Impeachment of Judge Im Seong-geun"... Will the Unprecedented 'Judge Impeachment' Follow?

Lee Nak-yeon "Allowing Im Seong-geun Judge Impeachment Proposal... Serious Misconduct"

Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Party-Government-Cheong meeting on the activation and legislative promotion of the social economy held at the National Assembly on the 28th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to push for the impeachment of Im Seong-geun, Chief Judge of the Busan High Court, who was involved in judicial corruption during the tenure of former Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae. If the impeachment of a judge is passed in the National Assembly, it will be the first case in constitutional history. A total of 111 Democratic Party lawmakers plan to submit the impeachment motion against Chief Judge Im as early as the 29th.

Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party, wrote on his Facebook on the 28th, "The party leadership has decided to allow Democratic Party lawmakers to push for the impeachment of Judge Im, who was pointed out for violating the Constitution. Initially, lawmaker Lee Tan-hee was preparing impeachment motions for two judges, but he himself adjusted it to only impeach Judge Im, whose wrongdoing was evident."

He added, "Judge Im seriously infringed on the independence of the presiding judge by intervening in the defamation trial of former President Park Geun-hye by a foreign journalist to suppress demands for the truth about the Sewol ferry disaster, including requesting revisions to the judgment."

Lee emphasized, "If we overlook the unconstitutional acts of a judge who should protect the judicial system of the Republic of Korea and ignore the impeachment demands, it will be a dereliction of duty by the National Assembly. To prevent unconstitutional corruption from recurring in the courts, after much deliberation, we have decided to acknowledge the impeachment motion."

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party, also told reporters after a party meeting at the National Assembly on the same day, "The party allows the initiation of impeachment against Judge Im Seong-geun, who violated the Constitution."

Regarding whether this is a party stance, he said, "It is not a party stance. Individual motions are allowed and will proceed according to the National Assembly Act procedures."

The Democratic Party of Korea decided on the 28th to pursue impeachment proceedings against Chief Judge Im Seong-geun, who is suspected of judicial corruption. The photo shows Chief Judge Im Seong-geun. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, lawmakers from the ruling coalition, led by Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Tan-hee, intended to file impeachment motions not only against Chief Judge Im but also against Chief Judge Lee Dong-geun of the Seoul High Court. However, during subsequent discussions, it was decided to prioritize impeachment proceedings only against Chief Judge Im.

Hong Jeong-min, Democratic Party floor spokesperson, told reporters after the party meeting, "(Lawmaker Lee) suggested focusing on Chief Judge Im, whose offenses are relatively more serious, emphasizing selection and concentration."

Chief Judge Im is suspected of having received and revised the judgment in advance before the trial of a Japanese Sankei Shimbun journalist who was indicted for defamation after raising suspicions about former President Park Geun-hye's 'Sewol ferry 7-hour mystery.' The first trial court acknowledged Judge Im's interference in the trial but ruled that the crime of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights could not be applied. The prosecution appealed, and Chief Judge Im is currently undergoing a second trial.

Chief Judge Im, a graduate of the 17th Judicial Research and Training Institute, is considered a representative elite judge. He has served as the Litigation Counselor at the Court Administration Office, a Research Judge at the Supreme Court, and the Judicial Policy Third Counselor at the Court Administration Office. In 2018, he was even recommended as a candidate for Supreme Court Justice.

If the impeachment motion is passed in the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court (Constitutional Tribunal) makes an impeachment decision, Chief Judge Im will gain the dishonor of being the first impeached judge in constitutional history. Although Chief Judge Im is scheduled to retire next month, if the Constitutional Court accepts the impeachment, he will be barred from registering as a lawyer and holding public office for five years, and his retirement benefits will also be partially restricted.

There have been two previous attempts to impeach judges, but both failed. During the 12th National Assembly in 1985, an impeachment motion was attempted against Chief Justice Yoo Tae-heung due to controversy over unfair personnel appointments but was rejected. In the 18th National Assembly in 2009, the Democratic Party filed an impeachment motion against Supreme Court Justice Shin Young-chul over his interference in the mad cow disease candlelight protests trial, but it was automatically dismissed after the deadline passed.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Lee, who is the chief proposer of the impeachment motion, has secured the consent of 111 lawmakers from the Democratic Party, Justice Party, Open Democratic Party, and Basic Income Party. This exceeds the required quorum of 'one-third of the total members (100 members)' needed to propose a judge's impeachment motion. A majority of the total members' approval is required for the resolution. After the resolution, the Constitutional Court will make the final judgment on the impeachment.

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