Former 8 Bar Association Presidents: "A National Humiliation... Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su Must Resign Immediately" Statement

Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former presidents of the Korean Bar Association, the largest lawyer organization in South Korea, have called for the resignation of Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su, who is embroiled in controversy over ‘false explanations’ and political neutrality.

Former KBA presidents Kim Doohyun (30th), Park Seungseo (35th), Lee Sejung (37th), Ham Jeongho (39th), Jung Jaehun (41st), Shin Youngmoo (46th), Ha Changwoo (48th), and Kim Hyun (49th) issued a statement on the 8th, stating, “Chief Justice Kim must immediately resign to protect judicial independence.”

They first condemned the recent parliamentary impeachment resolution against Im Seonggeun, Chief Judge of the Busan High Court. The former presidents said, “This is shocking. The National Assembly has passed the first impeachment resolution in constitutional history on a case where the court acquitted the defendant,” and criticized it as “a clear political impeachment aimed at controlling the judiciary.”

They added, “The recorded conversation of Chief Justice Kim, revealed during the truth dispute over Chief Judge Im’s resignation, proves that he no longer qualifies as the head of the judiciary,” emphasizing, “It is unprecedented in constitutional history that the Chief Justice refused to accept the resignation of a chief judge who was impeached by the National Assembly.”

Furthermore, they pointed out, “The Chief Justice, who has not only failed to defend judicial independence against unjust pressure from the ruling political forces but has also bowed before power, and who lies to the people, is a disgrace in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea.”

They also added, “The only duty of a public official like the Chief Justice is to apologize to the people and resign immediately, which is the way to save our judiciary.”

Earlier, Chief Judge Im reportedly submitted his resignation in May last year due to health reasons and met with Chief Justice Kim, but it was alleged that Kim rejected the resignation, fearing that accepting it would lead to criticism that he was blocking the National Assembly’s impeachment discussions.

Chief Justice Kim denied the allegations, stating, “I never said that I could not accept the resignation due to the impeachment issue,” but on the 4th, Chief Judge Im released a recorded file proving that this explanation was false.

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