In a recent development, Kwon Seong-dong, the acting representative and floor leader of the People Power Party, has raised concerns regarding the potential invalidation of the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol by the Constitutional Court. He expressed these concerns during a party meeting on December 26, 2024, highlighting the risk associated with the National Assembly proceeding to appoint three Constitutional Court judges. Kwon equated the move to a prosecutor selecting judges for their own trial, arguing that such appointments could severely undermine the fairness of the impeachment process.
He also referenced a past case involving President Yoon from 2020, when then-Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae’s disciplinary actions against Yoon were invalidated by the Seoul High Court due to procedural improprieties. Kwon stressed the inappropriateness of the National Assembly recommending judges who might preside over a case where the Assembly itself is a party.
Furthermore, Kwon called on Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to resist pressure from the Democratic Party to appoint the judges, suggesting that impeachment should require the same supermajority as a presidential impeachment. He criticized the Democratic Party’s impeachment efforts as strategic moves to deflect attention from Lee Jae-myung’s legal issues, who is facing multiple charges and trials.
Amid this controversy, the People Power Party has decided not to participate in the vote on approving the appointment of three judges. Kwon justified the party’s stance by emphasizing their belief that Acting President Han lacks the authority to appoint Constitutional Court judges, and indicated that the party had no plans to pursue further legal procedures opposing the appointments.