The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Wednesday ramped up its threats to impeach acting President Choi Sang-mok over his refusal to appoint a ninth justice to the Constitutional Court.
The Democratic Party’s growing calls for Choi to appoint opposition-recommended Justice candidate Ma Eun-hyuk come amid speculation that the court’s current eight-member bench has been deadlocked over a verdict in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial.
Main opposition leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung blamed Choi for the prolonged court deliberation and indirectly warned the acting president that he could face impeachment if Ma is not swiftly appointed, speaking during a party leadership meeting held at a pro-impeachment rally in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.
“It is a severe dereliction of duty (that Choi has not appointed Ma) as he is not carrying out his duties in accordance with the Constitution -- Choi is a criminal who is currently (breaching the law),” Lee said during the meeting that began at 10 a.m.
“(The law) allows us to punish the president, even a sitting one, if he destroys the constitutional order. It allows any of us (as South Korean citizens) to arrest acting President Choi. He should be careful," Lee added.
Lee was wearing a bulletproof vest at the site of the party leadership meeting after several Democratic Party lawmakers claimed that they had received text messages warning of a plot to assassinate him using a smuggled Russian-made pistol. Democratic Party spokesperson Hwang Jung-a explained that the warning was related to "some agents of the 707th Special Missions Group," one of the units deployed to the National Assembly on the night of Dec. 3, when Yoon declared martial law.
Lee is under police protection due to the alleged threat.
Lee’s remarks about impeaching the acting president align with Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae’s warning that Choi must “appoint Justice candidate Ma by March 19,” made during a party policy meeting held the previous day.
Officials of the Democratic Party plan to join a pro-impeachment march from Gwanghwamun to the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, in the afternoon and participate in a separate rally Wednesday evening. At 9 p.m., they are to convene an emergency party meeting, which observers said would include Choi’s potential impeachment as a key agenda item.
In response to Lee's warning to Choi, the ruling People Power Party shot back, labeling the main opposition's statements "irrational and absurd."
"(The warnings) are irrational and absurd remarks," the ruling party said in commentary released by Rep. Shin Dong-uk, the party's senior spokesperson. "For the head of a party that exists to represent the people to threaten the leader of our administration with impeachment and make reckless threats with words such as 'be careful' only causes anger and conflict among the public."
As of Wednesday, the Constitutional Court had heard and deliberated Yoon's case for 95 days since it received the impeachment motion passed by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Dec. 14.
The deliberation process in Yoon’s case is the lengthiest of South Korea's three presidential impeachment trials to date. In 2004, the court delivered a verdict for President Roh Moo-hyun 63 days after receiving the motion from the Assembly, while in 2017 it took 91 days for President Park Geun-hye's impeachment to be upheld.
A constitutional law expert said that the current eight-member bench appears to be sharply divided over whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate him, which has likely contributed to the lengthy deliberation.
“It is going to take some time for the court to decide whether it is fair for them to completely remove Yoon from office when there are other forms of punishment,” said Hwang Do-ssu, a constitutional law professor at Konkuk University, speaking to The Korea Herald.
“But at the moment, it's uncertain whether Ma can even be appointed as the ninth justice due to the urgency of the case and the fact that the hearing has already wrapped up,” he added.
In late December, Choi appointed two justices to the court: the conservative People Power Party-backed Jo Han-chang and opposition-backed Jeong Gye-seon. However, he held off on the appointment of Ma, citing the need for a bipartisan consensus on the potential ninth justice.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
