'Yoon Impeachment Hearing' Turns Chaotic from the Start... "Evacuate" vs "Chairman Step Down"

The impeachment petition hearing for President Yoon Seok-yeol held on the 19th turned chaotic from the start. In front of the Legislative and Judiciary Committee meeting room, ruling party lawmakers blocked entry to the meeting room, shouting, "Stop the sham hearing. Jung Cheong-rae should resign." Committee Chairman Jung Cheong-rae warned, "If the meeting or the proceedings are disrupted, I will exercise the authority to maintain order," and stood firm.

The hearing conducted by the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee that day focused mainly on allegations of investigation interference related to the death of a Marine Corps soldier in the line of duty. It was the first anniversary of the death of Marine Sergeant Chae Sang-byeong. Although Chairman Jung announced the opening, the ruling party lawmakers protested, causing a delay of about 10 minutes. Chairman Jung read a letter from Sergeant Chae’s mother and explained that the hearing would focus on the allegations of investigation interference.

The People Power Party claimed the hearing was illegal. Lawmaker Song Seok-jun of the People Power Party said, "This will be an opportunity to clarify why such an incident escalated into interference by state agencies and why such an absurd event as impeachment has occurred," and questioned, "Isn't this an illegal hearing?" When fellow party member Kwak Gyu-taek criticized the hearing, Chairman Jung warned, "Those who claim this is an illegal hearing have no reason to be here. Mr. Kwak, please be quiet."

Jeong Cheong-rae, Chairman of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, is heading to the meeting room where the public hearing on the petition requesting the initiation of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol is being held amid protests from People Power Party lawmakers on the 19th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Amid repeated disruptions to the proceedings, Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Hyun-hee suffered physical impact upon entering the meeting room, sparking controversy. Chairman Jung noticed that Lawmaker Jeon was having difficulty moving and asked her to explain the situation. Lawmaker Jeon complained of discomfort in her back and other areas due to the impact when entering the meeting room. Chairman Jung stated that any physical harm inflicted would be severely punished.

The presidential office and the ruling party claimed that the hearing and the adoption of witnesses were all illegal. The Democratic Party had previously adopted 22 witnesses in the Legislative and Judiciary Committee, including former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Im Seong-geun, former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop, Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik, Director of the National Intelligence Service Cho Tae-yong, Marine Corps Commander Kim Gye-hwan, Marine Corps Public Relations and Information Officer Lee Yoon-se, former National Security Office Defense Secretary Kim Hyung-rae, and former Black Pearl Investment CEO Lee Jong-ho. However, Minister Shin, Director Cho, Commander Kim, Officer Lee, former Secretary Kim, and former CEO Lee submitted letters of non-attendance for the hearing to the committee.

The Democratic Party intends to proceed with the presidential impeachment petition hearings on the 19th and again on the 26th. Park Chan-dae, acting leader of the Democratic Party and floor leader, emphasized, "All suspicions point toward Mrs. Kim Geon-hee, and there is a possibility that the prosecution will grant her a free pass," adding, "Each of the allegations of state affairs manipulation that are currently inflaming public anger can all be explained by the mere three syllables, Kim Geon-hee."

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