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How to abuse the sword of impeachment

Published: 21 Oct. 2024, 19:39

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) wants to impeach Prosecutor General Sim Woo-jung after the prosecution decided to not indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case. The DP has been leveraging its majority power to oust multiple senior officials in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, but it is now moving to take down the prosecution chief.

There had been six impeachment attempts against the chief prosecutor under the Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung governments, which all failed to get through. But the DP has a strong chance of seeing through the motion and suspending the office of the prosecutor general. The impeachment motion on the chief prosecutor requires only a majority of votes. If the DP mobilizes all of its 170 members in the 300-seat legislature, the motion can be rubber-stamped. The motion suspends the government office until it is reversed by the Constitutional Court.

But the majority party doesn’t show any discretion. Including prosecutor Lee Jung-seop whose impeachment was overturned by the Constitutional Court in August, seven public servants had been suspended from office due to the DP’s impeachment motions under the incumbent legislature that was formed in late May. None of the motions was accepted by the Constitutional Court. Despite the waste, the DP continues to resort to the impeachment weapon.

The prosecution is partly responsible for inviting the impeachment. Its investigation on the first lady drew scorn and disappointment. While announcing the investigation results last week, the prosecution said its search warrant for Kim had been denied by the court. But the warrant had been asked not for the Deutsche Motor case but for an investigation related to Covana Contents, an exhibition agency the first lady ran.

An outside case review panel recommended the prosecution to indict pastor Choi Jae-young who had gifted a luxury handbag to the first lady, but the prosecution ignored the suggestion. In July, Kim was questioned in an undisclosed premise of the presidential security service instead of the prosecution office without reporting to the prosecutor general. The series of questionable actions by the prosecution have emboldened the DP to go after the prosecution’s top gun.

Sim, who took office last month, legally has no command over the Deutsche Motor case. The irrelevant impeachment motion can only be suspected of a disruptive motive. A reckless impeachment motion goes against the Constitutional order and can backfire. DP leader Lee Jae-myung proclaimed the death of law and order in Korea after the prosecution dropped Kim’s case. But what can really shake the foundation of law and order are the chain impeachment motions.