Opposition party pushes for impeachment of three prosecutors over non-prosecution of first lady’s stock price manipulation

Baek Hye-ryun, Park Hong-geun, and Jung Sung-ho (from left) of the Democratic Party of Korea picket to carry out the Special Prosecutor Act for the first lady Kim Keon-hee, at the intersection of Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on November 20. Yonhap News

The Democratic Party has decided to report the impeachment proposal of Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office; Cho Sang-won, the fourth deputy chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office; and Choi Jae-hoon, the second deputy chief of the anti-corruption department in the National Assembly's plenary session on November 28. Hardliners are arguing that the plenary session should be held on the 29th and a vote should be taken immediately. However, there are also concerns within the party that the judicial risk of Lee Jae-myung has materialized, which could provide the ruling party with an excuse to attack.

“We plan to propose an impeachment motion against the three prosecutors involved in the non-prosecution of first lady Kim Keon-hee and report it to the plenary session on the 28th,” a key Democratic Party official said in a phone call on the 20th,” and if possible, we will proceed to a vote at the plenary session on the 29th.” The impeachment bill is to be voted through a secret ballot between 24 hours and 72 hours after the motion is reported to the plenary session.

The Democrats had initially planned to hold only the vote on the Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Act, which is likely to be vetoed by President Yoon Suk-yeol, in the plenary session on the 28th. However, the party leaders decided not to schedule a separate plenary session for the re-vote on the Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Act but to report the impeachment proposal against Lee on the same day.

The majority of the party leaders are reportedly of the opinion that the vote should be held on the 29th, the day after the report. The leadership plans to soon ask National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik to hold a plenary session on the 29th for the vote.

If Woo refuses to hold a plenary session on the 29th, they may refer the impeachment bill to the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee for a hearing. In July, the Democratic Party introduced impeachment bills against Kang Baek-shin, deputy chief prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office; Kim Young-chul, the deputy prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office; Park Sang-young, the deputy prosecutor of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office; and Uhm Hee-joon, chief prosecutor of the Bucheon District Prosecutor's Office, and referred them to the committee instead of voting. The committee has already held investigative hearings on the impeachment cases against prosecutors Kim Young-chul (August 14) and Park Sang-yong (October 2).

The Democratic Party previously passed the Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Act in a plenary session on November 14 to investigate Kim's alleged involvement in Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation and her allegations related to Myung Tae-gyun. The initiation of impeachment proceedings against Lee and others is seen as a move to emphasize the need for the Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Act to be processed. “Even if it doesn't actually result in impeachment, the purpose is to show how poorly the investigation of the Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation case was handled,” said a second-term, pro-Lee Jae-myung lawmaker on the call.

The concerns are growing. The timing of the impeachment motion could be misleading, given that it comes shortly after the first trial ruling on Lee's violation of the Public Offices Election Act. “It's an act that puts Representative Lee in a boiling pot,” a pro-Lee Jae-myung lawmaker argued on the call, and although it's aimed at the first lady and the prosecution, it could send a negative message to the entire legal community, including the court.” Choi Jae-hoon, a deputy prosecutor, is also the head of the investigation into the alleged receipt of money envelopes at the Democratic Party of Korea’s National Convention.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.

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