“The Return of the 108th Brain”… Impeachment of judges who failed even the ruling party leadership

“The number 108 came to my mind during the Open Uri Party.”

On the 29th, a member of the metropolitan area of ​​the Democratic Party of the Republic of Korea gave a general review of the general meeting of members of the National Assembly on the day before discussing the issue of impeachment of judges. ‘108 denominations’ refers to 108 first-time lawmakers who entered the 17th National Assembly after a headwind of impeachment prosecution against former President Roh Moo-hyun. At that time, the government did not have a good day as they rebelled against the party leadership for every serious issue such as the National Security Law and the dispatch of troops to Iraq.

Summarizing the comments of the attending lawmakers, the Eui-Chong started out with concerns from the deputy chief deputy leader Kim Young-jin over 10 minutes. Deputy Deputy Representative Kim said, “Even if we win the battle, will we be able to win the war?” He said, “I broke through a long tunnel (the conflict between former Justice Minister Chu Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol). Why are you trying to enter that tunnel again? It was feared that a single vote on the impeachment bill would inevitably lead to the claudication of the provisional parliamentary assembly in February, and the recovery of approval ratings could be eroded as politics heats up. One attending legislator said, “It seems that Vice President Kim represented the opinion of the leadership, but the hardline theory centered on the first lines was out of control.”

The movement to prosecute impeachment of judges in the Democratic Party has been led by lawmakers Lee Tan-hee and Lee Soo-jin (Dongjak Dongjak) from the International Human Rights Law Research Association, a group of progressive judges, and lawmakers Park Ju-min and Kim Yong-min from Minbyun. At a press conference on the 22nd, Rep. Lee Tan-hee pointed out Judges Seong-geun Lim and Dong-geun Lee as the targets of impeachment, saying, “The courts have been recognized as anti-constitutional actors through the first trial decision.” Then, on the 27th, Congressman Kim Yong-min joined the hardline debate on the 28th when he made a quick conclusion saying, “You have to vote 72 hours after the impeachment proposal, and it will be over in three days.”

In the Eui-Chong, “As the term of office of the chief judge who is the subject of impeachment ends on the 28th of next month, even if he goes to the Constitutional Court, he will be dismissed” and concerns that “if the impeachment bill is handled alone, we will hear the sound of’legislation alone’.” However, it is said that such a voice came in quickly as the next party leaders, lawmakers Song Young-gil and Hong Young-pyo, stepped in.

Rep. Song argued that “impeachment of judges is a duty imposed on the National Assembly by the Constitution,” and “if you do not do this, you will be abandoned.” Rep. Hong also pressured the leadership with the intention that “the troubled people understand enough, but if they don’t do this, the leadership will be in trouble,” the attendees said. Concerns that “the impeachment of the chief judge, who has not even been prosecuted, will eventually be dismissed” were reflected, and the atmosphere was overwhelming except that the target of the impeachment was narrowed down to a single chief judge.

In the end, CEO Nak-yeon Lee also posted on Facebook late that night, saying, “If you condone the unconstitutional act of a judge who must protect the Korean judicial system and ignore the request for impeachment prosecution, it will be a revocation of the National Assembly’s duty.” In order not to do so, I decided to admit the impeachment prosecution after hard work.”

The Democratic Party plans to vote on the impeachment bill on the 3rd of next month, when the first plenary session of the extraordinary National Assembly is held in February. However, claudication is expected to be inevitable. During the extraordinary National Assembly, the Democratic Party planned to deal with 103 bills related to the Corona 19 Loss Compensation System and the Profit-Sharing System, including the ‘3 Act on Win-Win Cooperation’ and the ‘5 Act on Social Economy.

One key official said, “If it weren’t for the impeachment bill, most of the bills were difficult for the opposition party to oppose before the election, but it’s unfortunate.” A red light may also illuminate in Lee’s presidency, which has been proposing’integration’ as a new keyword since the beginning of the year, such as the pardon of the former president. Representative Lee’s officials were concerned that “the consolidation theory is in danger of becoming overshadowed.”

In response, Deputy Judge Im criticized the Democratic Party’s decision to impeach through lawyer Yoon Geun-soo, a lawyer on the day, saying, “In this case, factual relations and legal battles are being fierce in the appeal trial, and no clear evaluation has been made in the law.” In addition, he said, “There is only the expression of unconstitutional conduct in the judgment of the first instance, but it is only a matter of presenting opinions and advice, and the case of acquittal because it does not affect or infringe on the exercise of jurisdiction.” I can’t say that.”

He also pointed out procedural issues. Attorney Yoon said, “In order to determine whether or not to be impeached, the facts must be investigated through a referral to the judiciary as stipulated in Article 130, Paragraph 1 of the National Assembly Act, but there are still 10,000 cases of evidence and both sides have not been reviewed. Deputy Judge Shin Gwang-ryul, who was acquitted in an appeal for alleged involvement of’Justice Nongdan’, also said, “Impeachment is a system in which a public official who maintains public office without investigation or prosecution when committing a criminal act is dismissed.” Pointed out.

Reporters Lim Jang-hyuk, Park Hyun-ju, and Seong Ji-won [email protected]