Democratic Party's Seol Hoon: "Impeachment Proposal for Judges Possible on February 4"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Democratic Party of Korea expressed confidence in the National Assembly's impeachment motion against Im Seong-geun, the chief judge of the Busan High Court involved in the 'judicial farming' scandal, scheduled for early next month.

Seol Hoon, a five-term senior member of the Democratic Party, appeared on YTN Radio's 'Hwang Bo-seon's Morning Start' on the 29th and said, "Our party, along with the Justice Party and the Open Democratic Party, with 107 members, proposed impeachment against Judge Im," adding, "More than 100 members have submitted the motion, and if 151 members pass it in the plenary session, it can be done by February 4." He also added, "Even if it is not a party line, it is quite possible to proceed to impeachment." Judicial impeachment is finalized by the Constitutional Court after passing through the National Assembly.

When the extraordinary session of the National Assembly opens on the 1st of next month, after the negotiation group leaders' speeches on the 2nd and 3rd, a government questioning session on politics, diplomacy, unification, and security is scheduled for the 4th. Representative Seol told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "On the day of the government questioning, the plenary session can be held to pass the judicial impeachment motion." With the Democratic Party holding 174 seats alone, it seems unlikely that the motion will fail to pass.

Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party, also stated on Facebook the previous night, "If we overlook the unconstitutional actions of judges who are supposed to protect the judicial system of the Republic of Korea and ignore the demand for impeachment, it will be a dereliction of duty by the National Assembly."

The opposition parties have raised their voices in criticism, calling it 'muzzling.' Bae Jun-young, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement that day, "This is not only an impeachment against an individual judge but also concerns a trial currently under criminal litigation, where the first trial resulted in a not guilty verdict but the case has not been finalized." He argued, "The National Assembly's impeachment proposal and the Constitutional Court's impeachment decision could naturally influence or conflict with future rulings by the High Court and the Supreme Court. Public concerns about the independence of the judiciary and trials are inevitably raised."

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