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Don't turn charges of treason into a political football

Published: 10 Jan. 2025, 00:00

Kim Jung-ha

The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

The National Assembly’s impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol was inevitable. Even if the ruling party had managed to block its passage during the second vote on Dec. 14, it was destined to pass in a subsequent vote, whether a week or two later. This was due to overwhelming public outrage over allegations that Yoon deployed military forces to remove lawmakers from the Assembly, an act many viewed as treason under the criminal code.

Had President Yoon only declared martial law without taking any concrete action — merely as a “warning,” as he claimed — the opposition party would have argued that the declaration was unconstitutional. However, it would have been challenging to secure enough votes for impeachment in such a scenario. The president could have argued that the current situation justified his emergency measures. The decisive factor behind the impeachment’s passage, including over eight defections from the ruling party, was the accusation of treason for the deployment of troops against the legislature.

Controversy has now erupted over the decision by prosecutors in the impeachment — which was led by the liberal Democratic Party (DP) — to withdraw treason charges from the motion. Upon hearing the news, I was reminded of the 2019 fast-track election law controversy, which followed a similar pattern of manipulation. The DP’s approach — appeasing allies until its goal is achieved, only to later abandon them — feels eerily familiar.

In 2019, the DP’s primary objective was to establish a new investigative agency for high-ranking officials, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). However, with the Liberty Korea Party — now the People Power Party — staunchly opposing the legislation, the DP needed to fast-track the bill, which required the support of three-fifths of lawmakers. Lacking the sufficient number of seats, the DP courted smaller parties such as the Bareunmirae Party, Justice Party and Party for Democracy and Peace. These minor parties were less interested in the CIO but were persuaded by the DP’s promise to reform the election law to favor smaller parties. This quid pro quo culminated in the simultaneous fast-tracking of both bills in April 2019, despite fierce resistance from the Liberty Korea Party.

However, once the CIO bill gained momentum, the DP began backtracking on election reform. The original proposal of 225 district seats and 75 proportional representation seats was reduced to 253 district seats and 47 proportional seats, with only 30 of the proportional seats allocated under a semi-mixed system. To add insult to injury, the DP later created a satellite party, nullifying the intent of the election reform. If minor parties had foreseen such betrayal, would they have supported the fast-track process in the first place?

The DP’s current attempt to drop treason charges from Yoon’s impeachment seems aimed at expediting the Constitutional Court’s ruling. The goal appears to be securing a decision before the appellate court delivers its verdict in DP leader Lee Jae-myung’s election law violation case. However, shaping a presidential impeachment process to suit a specific faction’s political interests sets a dangerous precedent. The DP claims that the treason-related facts remain part of the case but will be reframed as constitutional violations. If so, why wasn’t the impeachment motion written that way from the start? Was the treason charge merely bait to lure votes from ruling party lawmakers? Without treason in the motion, would the impeachment have passed in the National Assembly?

Political shortcuts may yield temporary gains, but they inevitably come at a price. The 2019 election law debacle, for instance, drove a wedge between the DP and the Justice Party, contributing significantly to the DP’s loss in the 2022 presidential election. In turbulent times, adherence to principles is more critical than ever.

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.