The legal team for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun announced today (27th) that they will be filing a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office against Mun Hyeong-bae, acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, on charges of abuse of authority.
The legal team claims that Acting Chief Mun informed Kim, who appeared as a witness at the Constitutional Court on the 23rd, that if he exercised his right to refuse to testify, the credibility of his testimony would be assessed negatively, implying a disadvantage in the trial. They argue that this amounts to notifying a disadvantage in the trial and interfering with Kim’s right to refuse to testify, abusing his authority as a constitutional judge.
Earlier, on the 23rd, former Defense Minister Kim appeared as a witness in the impeachment trial of President Yoon Seok-yeol. After responding to questioning from Yoon’s side, he expressed a desire to decline cross-examination from the National Assembly’s side, saying, “I would like to refuse the cross-examination.”
In response, Acting Chief Mun stated, “If you must do so, there is nothing we can do, but usually, in such cases, the judge may generally evaluate the credibility of the witness lower,” and took a five-minute recess.
Later, he informed the courtroom, “The witness clearly has the right to refuse to testify, and the petitioners also have the right to question. The petitioners may exercise their right to question, and the witness may listen and then choose to exercise their right to refuse.”
Subsequently, when persuaded by President Yoon’s side that it might be better to respond to the questioning, former Defense Minister Kim changed his stance and answered the cross-examination from the National Assembly’s side.