Kim Yong-won (Yonhap)
Kim Yong-won (Yonhap)

Kim Yong-won, the controversy-ridden standing commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, said Wednesday that the Constitutional Court should be destroyed if it confirms the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

"If the Constitutional Court impeaches the president against the will of the people, who have sovereignty, the people must smash the court to pieces and complete destroy it without a trace," Kim wrote on Facebook page Wednesday night.

Suspended from presidential duties and under detention, Yoon is currently on trial for impeachment and criminal investigation for leading an insurrection and committing abuse of power.

Kim, an appointee of the Yoon government, further accused the Constitutional Court of becoming "a cheap political services provider subcontracted by the opposition party," and called the ongoing trial a "national fraud in the name of trial."

His comments Wednesday were to express his support for online Korean history lecturer Jeon Han-gil, who said "the people will sweep the entire Constitutional Court away if the justices do not reject (Yoon's impeachment in his) trial," implying the public would rampage through the court.

Civic groups have requested criminal charges be brought against Jeon for instigation. However, Kim, who is a former prosecutor and lawyer, promised to provide legal counseling for Jeon, praising him for being "a fighter protecting Korea against leftists' madness."

Members of civil society and those within the human rights commission itself expressed concern over Kim's remarks.

An unidentified official of the NHRCK told a local media outlet that under no circumstances should a high-ranking public official be justified disregarding the authority of the South Korean state and its legal system, as well as inciting violence.

"(Kim's comment) can only be interpreted as instigating the far right, as if he wants another incident like the Seoul Western Court riot to happen," the official was quoted as saying.

A recent pro-Yoon rally turned into mob violence in the Jan. 19 attack on the Seoul Western District Court, when scores of Yoon's supporters raided the court after it issued an arrest warrant for the president. The attack left 51 police officers and 41 civilians injured.

Yoon is under investigation for his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law and related allegedly illegal orders, which include orders to arrest a list of prominent politicians and his outspoken opponents.

Yoon has denied giving these orders in trial, claiming that he declared martial law merely as "a warning to the opposition."

This incident is not the first time Kim has been embroiled in controversy in relation to Yoon's failed imposition of martial law.

Kim recently sparked an uproar for leading a proposal designed to guarantee Yoon's right to defense, which claimed that Yoon's emergency martial law decree was an "act of governing that entails high levels of political and military characteristics." The NHRCK was initially slated to review the item last month but cancelled its meeting, due to the opposition of NHRCK officials and civic groups.

The proposal is scheduled to be discussed on Feb. 10.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com