Lim Seong-geun
In addition, the Democratic Party decided to pursue an impeachment proceeding for the Busan High Court chief judge Im Seong-geun who was involved in the judicial Nongdan.
Suspicion of abuse of jurisdiction… Decision
In-party “worries that it will be seen as taming the judiciary”
When the impeachment bill is passed, the constitution is final
Judge Im not guilty of 1 trial… Scheduled to retire in February
If the impeachment bill for judges is passed by the National Assembly, it will be the first case in the history of constitution. When the National Assembly approves the impeachment bill, the Constitutional Court decides whether to impeach it.
Democratic Party representative Lee Nak-yeon met with reporters after the non-face-to-face policy council meeting on the 28th and said, “We decided to allow lawmakers to pursue impeachment proceedings against Judge Im, who is accused of violating the constitution.” “It would be better to allow the promotion of the impeachment bill,” and I agreed.” Mr. Kim also said, “Because the National Assembly has the right to impeach, the party respected the opinion of the majority of lawmakers, saying,’It is the mission that the National Assembly does not impeach.”
The motion of the impeachment prosecution requires the consent of more than one-third (100) members of the National Assembly. If the impeachment proposal is reported to the plenary meeting held on February 1, it is expected to be voted on at the plenary meeting held on February 3 in accordance with the National Assembly Act, which states that the vote will be made within 72 hours after 24 hours. The 174 seats of the Democratic Party’s seats alone can fill the majority (more than 151 people), which is predicted to be highly likely to pass.
If the impeachment proposal is passed, it is transferred to the constitution and dismissal is decided if 6 or more of the 9 constitutional judges agree.
Deputy Judge Im is suspected of having reported and revised the ruling in advance before the trial of the Japanese Sankei Shimbun reporter (December 2015), who was accused of defamation after raising the “seven hours suspicion of the Sewol ferry” by former President Park Geun-hye. .
Judge Lim, who was handed over to trial on charges of abuse of authority, was acquitted at the first trial in February last year. At the time, the 25th Division of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement, which was in charge of the trial, ruled that “it is an unconstitutional act that violates the independence of judges,” and that “there may be considered as a reason for disciplinary action, but it cannot be regarded as abuse of authority.”
Judge Lim has not recently applied for an extension of his term and is about to retire in late February. Even if the National Assembly passes the impeachment bill, it is not easy for a constitutional decision to come out within February, and the Democratic Party’s general assembly said that it is not profitable to promote impeachment.
Seoul High Court’s Judge Lee Dong-geun, whose impeachment has been discussed with Judge Lim, fell out on the grounds that “the wrong is relatively minor.”
On the 22nd, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Tan-hee, an informant of the judicial agricultural group, publicly proposed the impeachment of judges under the name of 107 criminal passports, including Justice Party Ryu Ho-jeong, Open Democratic Party Kang Min-jeong, and Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in.
Congressman Lee insisted on a quick decision at the Congress, saying, “In three days, the National Assembly can vote on the impeachment bill.” Some in the party argued that it could be seen as’taming the judiciary’, and because of the crunch in relations between the opposition parties. However, the next party leaders, Song Young-gil, Woo Won-shik, and Hong Young-pyo, said, “It is a responsibility not to initiate an impeachment by the National Assembly,” he said. In the bulletin board of the party members, which was dominated by the provincial powers of Kang Sung, there were a number of articles that pressed the impeachment promotion, such as “What is different from the power of the people if we do not impeach.”
The impeachment of a judge was initiated in 1985 by an unfair person of Supreme Court Chief Justice Yoo Tae-heung at the time of the 12th National Assembly, but was rejected. In 2009, in the 18th National Assembly, the Democratic Party proposed an impeachment bill due to the issue of Supreme Court Justice Shin Young-cheol’s intervention in the candlelight vigil trial for mad cow disease at the time, but it was discarded due to the expiration of the term without a vote.
Reporter Kim Hyo-seong, Intern Reporter Kim Soo-hyun [email protected]