Kim Seung-won: "High Possibility of Sang-min Lee's Impeachment Dismissal... Due to Judges' Tendencies"

"Whether the law was intentionally violated is less important than the people's right to pursue happiness"

As the Constitutional Court's decision on Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Interior and Safety, who was impeached over responsibility for the Itaewon disaster, is expected on the 25th, Kim Seung-won, chairman of the Democratic Party's Legal Committee, predicted that the impeachment is likely to be dismissed due to the tendencies of the Constitutional Court justices.

On the same day, Kim said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "For the impeachment to be upheld, at least six justices must agree. However, the possibility of getting six votes in favor seems low, so I view it pessimistically."

The formal constitutional court hearing for Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Interior and Safety, who was impeached amid controversy over the inadequate response to the Itaewon disaster, was held on the afternoon of the 9th at the Grand Bench of the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Minister Lee Sang-min is seated. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

He attributed the likelihood of dismissal to the justices' tendencies. He said, "Looking at the previous case where Minister Han Dong-hoon filed a constitutional dispute, it was narrowly decided 5 to 4 in favor. I expected at least a 6 to 3 or 7 to 2 outcome," and added, "Given the 5 to 4 result, I think the political leanings of the justices will heavily influence this impeachment case as well, which makes me very pessimistic."

He continued, "From a legal standpoint or when comparing the significant legal interests and the constitutional protection interests, in a major disaster where 159 people lost their lives, dismissing or impeaching a political appointee minister is actually reasonable even when compared to foreign cases," and said, "If the constitutional justices focus passively only on legal interpretation or strictly on whether there was a serious legal violation in a physical sense, conservative justices are likely to follow that approach and reject the impeachment trial request."

In response to the host's question, "Wasn't the impeachment initiated because it was considered a serious legal violation?" Kim replied, "Whether it was a serious legal violation depends on whether the law was intentionally violated, and that is not the key point," adding, "In the face of such a major disaster, it is a matter of weighing the importance of maintaining the Minister of the Interior and Safety's position against the effect of impeachment aimed at protecting citizens' fundamental rights such as the pursuit of happiness and the right to life. It is about comparing which is more important: maintaining the minister's position or dismissing the minister to send a warning to the public service that such a disaster must never happen again."

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