161 Members of the Ruling Coalition Jointly Propose Impeachment Motion Against Im Seong-geun... Unprecedented 'Judge Impeachment' in Constitutional History

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] A total of 161 members of the National Assembly jointly proposed an impeachment motion against Im Seong-geun, Chief Judge of the Busan High Court, who was involved in the 'judicial scandal' during the tenure of Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae. The number of co-sponsors alone secures the quorum for a vote, and the motion is expected to pass the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 4th.

Ryu Ho-jeong, a Justice Party lawmaker, is holding a press conference on the 1st at the National Assembly Communication Office along with Lee Tan-hee of the Democratic Party, Kang Min-jung of the Open Democratic Party, and Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party to announce the proposal for the impeachment of Judge Lim Seong-geun. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the 1st, Lee Tan-hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, officially submitted the impeachment motion against Chief Judge Im in the afternoon.

The submitted impeachment motion specifically cited reasons including involvement in the trial related to the 'Sewol Ferry 7-hour' incident involving Kato Tatsuya, former Seoul bureau chief of Sankei Shimbun, the arrest and injury case of Minbyun lawyers related to the 2015 Ssangyong Motor rally, and the summary order trial procedure for gambling charges against a famous professional baseball player.

Kato Tatsuya, former Seoul bureau chief of Sankei Shimbun, was tried on charges including defamation for publishing a speculative article on August 3, 2014, in the Japanese Sankei Shimbun about 'President Park Geun-hye's whereabouts during the 7 hours on the day of the Sewol Ferry disaster.'

According to the impeachment motion, Chief Judge Im called the presiding judge Lee Dong-geun of the Kato Tatsuya case and suggested, "Although Kato Tatsuya's actions are acquitted, it would be better to clearly state that his behavior was undesirable" after the verdict was delivered, leading to revisions in the draft judgment.

The 161 co-sponsors of the impeachment motion, including Representative Lee, pointed out in the motion that "Chief Judge Im used his position as the Senior Criminal Judge of the District Court to induce the content or outcome of specific trials and interfered with the procedural progress of trials, which violated the constitutional principles of popular sovereignty (Article 1), the professional civil service system (Article 7), due process (Article 12), the exercise of judicial power by courts (Article 101), and judicial independence (Article 103)."

Regarding the arrest and injury case of Minbyun lawyers related to the Ssangyong Motor rally, the motion concluded that "Chief Judge Im, using his position as Senior Criminal Judge of the District Court, made remarks to revise the sentencing reasons in the judgment of a specific case, thereby inducing the content or outcome of an ongoing trial and requesting the revision of the original judgment document with immutable effect, constituting judicial interference."

In October 2014, four Minbyun lawyers were tried on charges including arrest and injury for holding a rally on July 25, 2013, in front of Daehanmun at Deoksugung Palace, urging resolution of the Ssangyong Motor incident, and resisting police order to leave the line of order maintenance, during which they allegedly grabbed and dragged the head of security at Namdaemun Police Station about 20 meters.

According to the impeachment motion, on August 20, 2015, Chief Judge Choi Chang-young, presiding over the arrest and injury case of the Minbyun lawyers, delivered the verdict in court using the original judgment document, explaining the reasons for guilt and innocence as well as sentencing reasons. However, on the same day, Chief Judge Im told the criminal public relations officer not to distribute the judgment and explanatory materials and to hold off temporarily. He also directly pointed out two or three expressions in the judgment to Chief Judge Choi, suggesting, "This case is expected to cause various controversies, and some expressions in the sentencing reasons might be controversial. Consider toning down the language." Subsequently, the presiding judge registered the revised original judgment document.

These actions were explained to have violated constitutional provisions on popular sovereignty (Article 1), the professional civil service system (Article 7), due process (Article 12), the exercise of judicial power by courts (Article 101), judicial independence (Article 103), and the criminal procedure law's provision on the immutability of judgments (Article 38 of the Criminal Procedure Act).

The lawmakers who proposed the impeachment motion stated, "The above acts by the accused Im Seong-geun are not only judicial interference declared as a serious constitutional violation by the National Council of Judges but also acts recognized by the court itself as a direct violation of judicial independence through judgments," adding, "It would be a dereliction of duty for the National Assembly not to proceed with impeachment procedures against a judge whom the judiciary itself has acknowledged as a constitutional violator infringing on judicial independence."

They concluded, "We hereby propose this impeachment motion to refer the accused to constitutional trial and fulfill the National Assembly's duty to protect judicial independence and constitutional order."

After submitting the impeachment motion containing these details to the National Assembly's legislative affairs office, Representative Lee told reporters, "I will do my best to proceed with the remaining procedures according to the National Assembly Act." Regarding the fact that there are 161 co-sponsors and the possibility of passage in the plenary session, he said, "There was no particular target or expected number," and refrained from commenting on the likelihood of passage, saying, "It is better not to get ahead of ourselves."

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