"Impeachment Possible Without Help from Legislation Committee Chair, Court Rules"…Opposition Proposes National Assembly Act Amendment

Choi Gisang, Democratic Party Lawmaker, Proposes Amendments to the National Assembly Act
Impeachment Initiation Lawmaker to Serve as Prosecutor Instead of the Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The National Assembly has proposed amendments to the National Assembly Act that designate one of the members who initiated the impeachment motion as the impeachment commissioner instead of the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee during impeachment proceedings. This measure seeks to prevent the possibility that the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee might passively handle the impeachment process even if the impeachment motion passes.

On the 17th, Choi Ki-sang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed the ‘Partial Amendment to the National Assembly Act’ and the ‘Partial Amendment to the Constitutional Court Act’ respectively.

According to current impeachment-related laws, when the National Assembly passes an impeachment motion, the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee acts as the prosecutor and files the impeachment trial request with the Constitutional Court. Regarding this, Representative Choi explained, "The chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is a position subject to replacement during the term, so if there is a change, it cannot guarantee the smooth execution of the impeachment trial. There were concerns that if the member serving as the chairman opposes the impeachment, they might respond passively to the impeachment trial."

Given the current situation in the National Assembly, even if the Democratic Party proceeds with the impeachment of Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and others, the impeachment commissioner would be Kim Do-eup, a member of the People Power Party and the current chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The political circles have long anticipated that Chairman Kim, who acts as the prosecutor in the Constitutional Court trial, would not actively participate in the impeachment process pushed by the opposition party. For this reason, there have been doubts within the opposition about the effectiveness of impeachment.

If the National Assembly Act and the Constitutional Court Act are amended according to Representative Choi’s proposal, the impeachment commissioner will be designated by the Speaker of the National Assembly from among the members who initiated the impeachment motion, in consultation with the leaders of the negotiating groups, instead of the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Representative Choi stated, "The impeachment trial system embodies the principle of the rule of law that no one is above the law and is a constitutional adjudication system to protect the Constitution from constitutional violations by high-ranking public officials. However, there can be abuses such as the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, contrary to the National Assembly’s position, failing to submit the certified copy of the impeachment resolution to the Constitutional Court in a timely manner, so institutional improvements are necessary. The right to initiate impeachment to uphold the Constitution should not be abused according to the political interests of the ruling and opposition parties but should be promptly pursued according to the will of the people."

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