'First in Constitutional History' Third Time in Two Months... Judiciary Swayed by the Giant Ruling Party

Last November, Prosecutor General Suspended from Duty
In December, Two-Month Suspension Disciplinary Action
This Time, Judge Impeachment Proposal Passed
"Reform Process" vs "Taming" in Tension

Busan High Court [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 4th, with the passage of the impeachment motion against Chief Judge Im Seong-geun, unprecedented cases in constitutional history continue to occur within the judiciary. Including the impeachment motion against Chief Judge Im, this is already the third case in just over two months.

The first incident in the past two months to be described as a "first in constitutional history" was the suspension of Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol from duty. In November last year, former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae suspended Prosecutor General Yoon from his duties based on six allegations including political neutrality violations. It was an unprecedented event in the 72-year constitutional history that a Minister of Justice suspended a sitting Prosecutor General. In December of the same year, the Ministry of Justice's Disciplinary Committee for Prosecutors recognized the charges against Prosecutor General Yoon and imposed a two-month suspension, which was also a first in constitutional history. Former Minister Choo was the disciplinary requester. The series of events were temporarily resolved when the court accepted Prosecutor General Yoon's injunction application. However, the main lawsuit seeking cancellation of the disciplinary action is still ongoing at the Seoul Administrative Court, so the situation has not been completely settled.

Prosecutor's Office Flag [Image source=Yonhap News]

Coincidentally, current ruling party figures have been at the center of these so-called "first in constitutional history" cases each time. Until the Yoon case, the legal community mainly viewed these as "pressure" or "offensives" against the prosecution. However, the atmosphere changed last month when the Democratic Party of Korea pushed for the "impeachment of judges." Concerns arose that this was an attempt to control not only the prosecution but also the courts. There were even talks of retaliation against courts that handed down unfavorable rulings in cases involving Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongnam and Prosecutor General Yoon.

After the impeachment motion against Chief Judge Im was passed, criticism grew louder. A legal community official said, "Chief Judge Im is set to leave the court at the end of this month, so it seems physically impossible for the Constitutional Court to reach a conclusion within that timeframe," adding, "It inevitably raises talk of controlling the courts." Another official pointed out, "Due to the impact of COVID-19, small business owners are being forced onto the streets, while ruling party politicians are fighting against the courts and prosecution." On the other hand, there is also a perspective that this is an unavoidable process for judicial reform. A lawyer in Seocho-dong said, "Until now, the courts and prosecution have enjoyed unchecked power," adding, "Even during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, attempts to reduce their authority failed, so this can be seen as part of reform efforts to break the power structure."

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