January 8, 2025
SEOUL – The National Assembly’s impeachment investigation committee, which acts as prosecutors in the Constitutional Court impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol, effectively withdrew the insurrection charge from the motion on Friday.
The article of impeachment written by the committee is composed of two parts — criminal charges related to insurrection and constitutional law violations related to the martial law declaration. Insurrection was the main justification for impeaching Yoon.
The withdrawal of insurrection charges means that the Assembly, controlled by the majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea, wants the court to conclude the trial quickly by concentrating on charges related to the martial law declaration.
It seems that the party is aiming to have its leader, Lee Jae-myung, run in the presidential election to be held early if the impeachment is upheld. It takes a lot of witnesses and evidence to prove insurrection, which will take a lot of time.
In that case, the impeachment ruling is unlikely to be made before appellate judgement on his election law violations. Lee would be disqualified from running in the presidential election if his first-trial sentence is finalized.
The opposition bloc led by the Democratic Party labeled Yoon as the leader of an insurrection, impeached him about 10 days after his short-lived martial law declaration, and called the ruling party and Cabinet members insurrection advocates and accomplices. The opposition party treated Yoon’s insurrection charge as an accomplished fact, putting up banners saying as much across the country.
Then, as the Constitutional Court trial begins, it says that it is not dealing with insurrection, the main charge against Yoon. It is absolutely preposterous. People cannot but be confused. This abrupt change shows that the party can go to any length to attain its political goals. If insurrection is excluded, what will become of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo who was impeached by the opposition parties? Insurrection was the central reason for his impeachment.
The ruling People Power Party and some legal experts argue that the National Assembly should take impeachment procedures anew because the article of impeachment with insurrection charge taken out is a whole different one. They argue that the legislature has to check if those lawmakers who voted for impeachment would do the same thing with the insurrection charge removed.
Also at the hearing Friday, a legal representative of the impeachment committee said that they thought that withdrawing the insurrection charge was what justices “recommended.” This is an absurd way of progressing a trial. It implies collusion and raises suspicions over whether a justice or justices who recommended the withdrawal of the insurrection charge — the key point of the trial — may have already decided to uphold impeachment.
The ruling party argues that there must have been collusion between the Constitutional Court and the Democratic Party. Few would believe that Jung Chung-rae of the Democratic Party, who heads the impeachment committee consisting of only opposition lawmakers, made such an important decision as withdrawing the insurrection charge without consulting the party leadership. The ruling party suspects a justice or justices of advising the Democratic Party. If this is true, it is a serious issue that could undermine the impartiality of the trial. A justice or justices who communicated with the impeachment committee ought to recuse themselves from the trial.
The Constitutional Court is the last bastion of constitutional law. Impeachment investigations and trials should be fair and transparent, even if they take time. Insurrection is inseparable from martial law. Excluding the charge from the article of impeachment can make a caricature of impeachment trials.
If many believe that the impeachment trial is progressing under some political scheme, the ruling will intensify conflict. The Constitutional Court has to put procedural fairness before efficiency to make a judgment acceptable to all. To judge responsibly on insurrection charges is a way to minimize social division.