
Parties clash over opposition's 'abuse' of impeachment process
Ruling party, Yoon's office hail verdict that overturned opposition-led impeachment motions
Rival parties clashed over speculations about the opposition party's impeachment abuse, following the Constitutional Court's ruling Thursday that overturned opposition-led motions to impeach a state auditor chief and three prosecutors.
The ruling bloc hailed the court's decisions, claiming they were proof that the opposition-led parliament had abused political power through a series of impeachments against innocent officials. The main opposition party, however, denied claims that it had been abusing the parliament's impeachment rights.
"The historic ruling struck down the Democratic Party's politically-motivated impeachment abuse," ruling People Power Party interim leader Rep. Kwon Young-se told reporters at the press conference at the National Assembly after the ruling.
This followed the Constitutional Court's unanimous 8-0 decision to overturn motions by parliament to impeach Choe Jae-hae, chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and three senior public prosecutors, including Lee Chang-soo, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
Kwon also described the impeachment motions as "attempts to stubbornly push ahead (with impeachment) based on the interests of the majority power, instead of the Constitution and law."
"Impeachments should not be abused for the sake of political interests, although the Constitution provides the grounds for impeachments and people endowed the impeachment power (to the National Assembly)," he added.
The presidential office also said in a note to reporters that the court's decision "rings the alarm on the opposition party's impeachment abuses."
Yoon's legal team, which represents the suspended president in both his criminal and impeachment trials, also noted that Thursday's rulings affirmed that the opposition party had sought to destroy constitutional order through legislative abuse, adding that its impeachment motion against Yoon should be struck down as well.
The parliament's impeachment motion against state audit chief Choe "led to Yoon's emergency martial law declaration" last December to shed light on the existence of anti-state forces, claimed Yoon's legal team.
However, the Democratic Party of Korea, which holds 170 out of 300 parliamentary seats at the National Assembly, denied power abuse claims, while blaming Yoon for lingering political uncertainties.
Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said Thursday that the court had dismissed claims of impeachment abuse by the opposition-led parliament. This was in line with the court's rulings on the three prosecutors, which acknowledged legal violations on their part but did not determine whether the parliament had overstepped its impeachment authority.
All motions to impeach the four figures passed the parliament's plenary session on Dec. 5. The motion to impeach state auditor Choe passed in a 188-4 vote, while motions to impeach the three prosecutors won 185 votes out of 192 lawmakers present.
Choe was accused of deliberately targeting Yoon's political opponent in a state audit. Lee and the two prosecutors — Cho Sang-won and Choi Jae-hun, both senior prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office — were accused of giving first lady Kim Keon Hee preferential treatment by failing to indict her for alleged stock manipulation.
All 108 ruling party lawmakers boycotted the voting sessions in a show of protest against the opposition party's "irresponsible" moves.
Since Yoon's inauguration in May 2022, the opposition-led National Assembly has impeached 29 public officials. This has drawn backlash from the ruling bloc, which claims the opposition party has been attempting to paralyze the government.
The Constitutional Court has issued rulings for eight of the 29 impeachments. So far, none of the impeachments have been upheld.
Two days before the opposition-led impeachment, Yoon, in an address to the nation on Dec. 12 argued that the opposition parties were employing "bulletproof impeachments" to cover up their own corruption.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Korea Herald
16 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Yoon, wife to face special counsel probes
577 prosecutors, investigators allotted to look into ex-first couple President Lee Jae-myung's Cabinet on Tuesday passed bills to open three special counsel investigations into former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee. The bills are intended to "end the insurrection" that the Lee administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea accuse Yoon of instigating with his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3, 2024. At the second Cabinet meeting since Lee took office last week, the Democratic Party-led bills passed into law to bring together 577 prosecutors and investigators in total to investigate the former first couple. The combined size of the legal teams involved in the investigations is comparable to a district attorney's office. With Tuesday's passage, a special counsel investigation will look into if Yoon committed either insurrection or treason by trying to impose martial law. Yoon declared martial law late in the evening of Dec. 3, only to lift it six hours later following a National Assembly resolution that opposed it. The Democratic Party contends that Yoon attempted to provoke military action from North Korea with his hawkish policies to lay the groundwork for the declaration of martial law. Yoon's Ministry of National Defense playing anti-Kim Jong-un regime broadcasts along the inter-Korean borders from June 2024 was one example of the former administration deliberately seeking military confrontation with North Korea, according to the Democratic Party. Before their resumption last year, the border broadcasts had been used by the South Korean military as a psychological warfare tactic in the past, before they were halted in 2018 under then-President Moon Jae-in. The Democratic Party also claims that Yoon sent drones across the border into North Korea in October 2024, echoing Pyongyang's accusations that the South Korean military was behind the alleged drone infiltration. Yoon allegedly attempting to instigate an armed conflict with North Korea in the run-up to his martial law decree qualifies as "treason," the Democratic Party claimed, on top of being a "rebellion against the Constitution, which is to say, insurrection." Yoon's wife Kim is set to face a separate special counsel investigation that will scrutinize allegations she was involved in the then-ruling People Power Party's nomination of candidates for a National Assembly seat in the 2022 by-election. Another special counsel investigation would revisit the death of a Marine in July 2023. Cpl. Chae Su-geun, 20, died when he was swept away in moving water during a search and rescue operation to locate flood victims in a rain-swollen river in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province. The Democratic Party says Yoon's presidential office tried to impede the preliminary probe into Chae's death at the time to cover up possible wrongdoing at the top. Special counsels will be given as long as 170 days to investigate Yoon and his wife. Yoon was removed from office on April 4 in a unanimous ruling by the Constitutional Court over the martial law debacle, leading South Korea to hold an early presidential election on June 3.


Korea Herald
16 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Petition to expel Lee Jun-seok from Assembly surpasses 500,000
Rep. Lee Jun-seok, presidential candidate for the minor conservative New Reform Party in the June 3 election, is facing mounting public backlash over a misogynistic remark made during a televised debate, with more than 500,000 people signing a petition calling for his removal from the National Assembly. During the May 27 debate, Lee brought up a vulgar expression involving chopsticks and a part of the female body while questioning Social Democratic Party candidate Kwon Young-guk. The reference was aimed at attacking Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung, alleging it had been used in an online post by Lee's son — but the backlash soon turned toward Lee himself. The remark was swiftly condemned for its explicit content and lack of relevance. As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, more than 502,000 people had signed the petition, just six days after it was posted on the National Assembly's official website on June 4. By law, petitions with over 50,000 signatures in 30 days are reviewed by a standing committee. The signatures far exceeded a previous petition filed last December seeking the impeachment of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, which drew around 400,000 signatures following his botched Dec. 3 martial law declaration. 'The lawmaker has long promoted discriminatory and divisive rhetoric, drawing a line between so-called 'citizens' and 'non-citizens,' particularly targeting women and minorities,' the petition reads. The backlash stems not only from the remark itself, but from what many see as a reflection of Lee's broader political trajectory. His support has largely come from men in their 20s and 30s, many of whom have expressed discontent with gender equality policies in recent years. According to exit polls by three major broadcasters, he secured 37.2 percent of the vote among men in their 20s — well above Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung's 24 percent in the same group. Since the mid-2010s, gender issues have become increasingly polarizing in South Korean politics. Lee built his political identity by appealing to young men who felt marginalized by the liberal Moon Jae-in administration's progressive agenda. Lee frequently amplified issues gaining traction in male-dominated online communities — such as opposition to gender quotas, protests at women's universities and criticism of disability rights activism — reinforcing his image as a voice for those disaffected. He also pledged to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family during both the 2022 and 2025 presidential campaigns, framing it as a symbol of preferential treatment toward women. The message resonated with his core supporters but was widely criticized as socially divisive. Despite the public outcry, Lee has stopped short of a full apology. At a press briefing, he said the reference was intended to scrutinize the opposing candidate, though he acknowledged the level of public offense it caused. 'If I could go back, I wouldn't bring it up,' he said. 'I'll be more careful with my expressions going forward.' Political commentator Choi In-han said the backlash reflects more than a single misstep. 'Lee Jun-seok's rise has been driven by a politics of division, drawing lines across gender, generation and even disability,' Choi told The Korea Herald. 'This controversy is not just about a single remark, but about how his entire political approach is being evaluated.' 'Running for president in one's 40s is itself a testament to political skill,' Choi added. 'But without a sincere apology — not just softened language — his future prospects could be severely damaged.' The controversy has drawn comparisons to a similar case in 2011 involving former lawmaker Kang Yong-seok, who was accused of making sexually inappropriate remarks about female broadcasters. Kang was expelled from his party and suspended from Assembly activities for one month. He later ran as an independent in the 2012 general election but failed to retain his seat. flylikekite@


Korea Herald
17 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Petition to expel Lee Jun-seok from Assembly surpasses 500,000
Rep. Lee Jun-seok, presidential candidate for the minor conservative New Reform Party in the June 3 election, is facing mounting public backlash over a misogynistic remark made during a televised debate, with more than 500,000 people signing a petition calling for his removal from the National Assembly. During the May 27 debate, Lee brought up a vulgar expression involving chopsticks and a part of the female body while questioning Social Democratic Party candidate Kwon Young-guk. The reference was aimed at attacking Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung, alleging it had been used in an online post by Lee's son — but the backlash soon turned toward Lee himself. The remark was swiftly condemned for its explicit content and lack of relevance. As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, more than 502,000 people had signed the petition, just six days after it was posted on the National Assembly's official website on June 4. By law, petitions with over 50,000 signatures in 30 days are reviewed by a standing committee. The signatures far exceeded a previous petition filed last December seeking the impeachment of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, which drew around 400,000 signatures following his botched Dec. 3 martial law declaration. 'The lawmaker has long promoted discriminatory and divisive rhetoric, drawing a line between so-called 'citizens' and 'non-citizens,' particularly targeting women and minorities,' the petition reads. The backlash stems not only from the remark itself, but from what many see as a reflection of Lee's broader political trajectory. His support has largely come from men in their 20s and 30s, many of whom have expressed discontent with gender equality policies in recent years. According to exit polls by three major broadcasters, he secured 37.2 percent of the vote among men in their 20s — well above Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung's 24 percent in the same group. Since the mid-2010s, gender issues have become increasingly polarizing in South Korean politics. Lee built his political identity by appealing to young men who felt marginalized by the liberal Moon Jae-in administration's progressive agenda. Lee frequently amplified issues gaining traction in male-dominated online communities — such as opposition to gender quotas, protests at women's universities and criticism of disability rights activism — reinforcing his image as a voice for those disaffected. He also pledged to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family during both the 2022 and 2025 presidential campaigns, framing it as a symbol of preferential treatment toward women. The message resonated with his core supporters but was widely criticized as socially divisive. Despite the public outcry, Lee has stopped short of a full apology. At a press briefing, he said the reference was intended to scrutinize the opposing candidate, though he acknowledged the level of public offense it caused. 'If I could go back, I wouldn't bring it up,' he said. 'I'll be more careful with my expressions going forward.' Political commentator Choi In-han said the backlash reflects more than a single misstep. 'Lee Jun-seok's rise has been driven by a politics of division, drawing lines across gender, generation and even disability,' Choi told The Korea Herald. 'This controversy is not just about a single remark, but about how his entire political approach is being evaluated.' 'Running for president in one's 40s is itself a testament to political skill,' Choi added. 'But without a sincere apology — not just softened language — his future prospects could be severely damaged.' The controversy has drawn comparisons to a similar case in 2011 involving former lawmaker Kang Yong-seok, who was accused of making sexually inappropriate remarks about female broadcasters. Kang was expelled from his party and suspended from Assembly activities for one month. He later ran as an independent in the 2012 general election but failed to retain his seat.